Genesis or Exodus
by Doccubus21
Summary: Bo is the commander of an elite team sent to protect a 'valuable resource' for The Elders of the Galactic Alliance. She had no idea just how valuable the ship Genesis and Lauren Lewis, are. Bo is under orders and Lauren is resentful of the Alliances interference. What starts as a reluctant compromise to tolerate each other, turns into a journey of growth, acceptance and love. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter one.**

* * *

Bo adjusted the straps that were holding her securely to the uncomfortable shuttle seat as it shuddered and shook, trying to manoeuvre through a small asteroid cluster that has caused their transportation to pull out of warp ahead of schedule. The supplies, weapon crates and luggage strained against the restraints holding them as the transport shuttle got pelted with the smaller meteoroids. The overhead lights flickered and her pilot cursed as another chuck of rock made contact with the front windshield.

"Frak! Could this ride be any more uncomfortable!," cursed Mackenzie 'Mad Mac' Malikov. She was Bo's second in command and best friend. "I mean commander, seriously. I don't understand why we are heading to some weird science-y, library ship in deep space, instead of being in the thick of the frontal assault in the Quardry Sector fighting the damn Nanchucks!"

Bruce 'The Hammer' Turret grunted his agreement as he shifted his large bulk and cursed as he hit his head on the roof. "Or at least a better ride for this supposed important assignment instead of this miniscule bucket of bolts."

"Hey! I'll have you know that this bucket of bolts has the fastest warp drive for it size and has manoeuvrability that saved our asses from being little, bloody pieces floating around with these asteroids right now! Besides, it's not that small to a regular sized person!" Vex 'The Tech' Roberts responded defensively as he narrowly avoided another floating clump of rock.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to insult your choice of transportation, Vex. Isn't that right, big guy?" Bo arched her eyebrow at her artillery expert and all around pain maker.

"Get us out of here alive, Vex and I promise to share my bottle of aged Vanpalusian Whisky with you."

"You're on, Hammer. No welching on your promise once we are safe! Holy Space Slugs! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!"

The three passengers held on as several clusters clunked into the shuttle, causing the ship to careen into a larger meteor that Vex barely avoided as it made a horrible scraping sound down the port side of the ship. Red lights and several curses from Vex had Bo unbuckling her safety restraints and heading towards the pilot. Another direct hit almost knocked the commander onto her ass, but her lightning quick reflexes had her clutching onto the hatch that held the emergency space suits and air filters. Bo clawed her way into the cockpit and gripped the back of Vex' chair. "Damage report!"

"My navigation is malfunctioning and the fraken rock must have punctured a hole in our fuel reserves. With the amount we are losing we won't make it to the final directive, that is if a spark doesn't light us up and blow us into little, bitty pieces first!."

"Are we in range to hail the Genesis?"

"If I can magnify the transmission waves with the help of some old military satellites left behind from the last great war... maybe. But I kinda have my hands full keeping this boat in one piece right now, Commander!"

Bo pointed to a large asteroid in the middle of the cluster, "Can you land us on that?"

"The navigation system is glitching, but I should be able to do it manually using just the thrusters which are on a separate fuel supply."

"I need a little more than should, Vex. Can you do it or not?"

Vex nodded and his jaw clenched in determination, "I can do it."

Bo patted him on the shoulder, "then do it. We are going to try to patch the leak so that we can get close enough for the Genesis to send help."

Twenty minutes later the STR-5 Shuttle landed with a loud thunk onto the jagged, rocky surface of the asteroid. Sweat gleamed on the brow of Bo's navigations and tech expert. "Great job, soldier."

Mackenzie and Bruce had both unbuckled and come up front to pat Vex on the back. "Nice job, numbskull," Mac said, playfully.

"Bite me!," was the tech's response.

"Enough! Malikov, you are with me so get suited up. And Bruce pack up any materials and tools that we can use to plug that hole!"

Bo turned to Vex, "Do we have any portable shield generators on board?"

The navigator pressed the ejection button to release his seatbelt allowing it to retract back into the pilot chair. The seat was padded and upholstered with a Ragnoroc hide cover, it's bright red and purple markings the only thing brightening up the otherwise dull interior of the shuttle. "I think we have a few in one of the strong boxes with our body armour, why?"

"I may be able to rig them up to form a protective shield around the shuttle to deflect the meteoroids so we may actually reach our mission objectives."

Vex rubbed his goatee in contemplation before nodding his head, "That could work. I never expected us to be thrown out of warp, if I had known about this asteroid in advance I would have made sure the shuttle was retrofitted before we left!"

Bo tapped a couple of buttons into the console to bring up the galactic map on the Holo-monitor and found the coordinates of their position. "Fraken shit-cluster! There is supposed to be a class two moon here. We are stuck in the middle of what remains of it. What the hell happened here?" Suddenly there came a beeping from the console. "What's that? It doesn't sound good."

Vex slipped past Bo and sat in his chair and plugged in a few commands into the computer as Mackenzie and Bruce joined the commander to see what all the excitement was about. "The sensors are picking up a ship in the vicinity. It's saying it's a Rancor Class-four military Destroyer."

Bo frowned, "But Rancor was destroyed in the last great war against the intergalactic alliance. There are very few Rancorian's left and they are scattered throughout the galaxy."

"There were rumours that several Rancor destroyers were abandoned after their planet was destroyed and the remaining survivors scattered into hiding. It is probably manned by pirates that we know patrol in these outer, less policed systems, picking of traders and slave ships. If they pick up our presence they will destroy us," Bruce commented as he started to shut off several of the non essential systems to help mask our presence.

"Okay, new plan. While Mac and I are out fixing that damn hole, you and vex will be monitoring and keeping an eye on our new friends and broadening our communications range so that we can reach the Genesis with an encoded distress and rescue message. The asteroid field will mask us from their scanner and sensors, right."

"Affirmative. We are well hidden and are one tenth the size of their ship. I doubt that they are monitoring for something so small."

Bo patted Vex on the shoulder and moved to allow Bruce in beside him, "Okay, so we all know what to do?" A chorus of 'yes, Commander' sounded and Bo gave a firm nod, "Then let's get to it." ...

* * *

Lauren adjusted the knob on the microscope, "fascinating. I have never seen such a complex sample of plant matter," she muttered to herself. "It appears to be more animal than plant. But its appearance says otherwise." The blonde ecological engineer stood up and approached the larger sample that was now encased in a living capsule for sustained preservation. It floated in the orange tinged fluid. The uncategorised sample appeared to be a regular species of fern (Polypodiophyta) with its intricate leaflets making up the frond, with the only thing separating it visually from its ancestors was the colour, a deep purple with flecks of gold. But Lauren suspected that the plant that she had recovered from a small uninhabited planet was a lot more than just a plant. The woman wondered if the plant was in fact sentient. "This will require more study," she said as she typed several notes into the console beside capsule before sending it up to the holding area with all the other samples that required more thorough research before being archived. She pressed enter and watched as a mechanical arm took hold of the capsule and set it onto the conveyer belt to be transported to its numbered space in one of the Genesis' many storage areas.

A beeping sound followed by a man's voice broke the silence. "Matriarch Lewis, ma'am?

Lauren rolled her eyes at the title she had been born with, "please don't call me that, Hale. What is so important that you need to interrupt my work?"

"I just received an encoded message of distress from the envoy that was sent from the Galactic Alliance Elders. They sustained damage to their ship and are requesting assistance. The message also said that a Rancor Destroyer was scouting the area."

"Then they are probably dead by now and we should be moving away from the area. The last thing we need is more pirates trying to board us. We are still cleaning up the remains of the last lot that tried it!"

"I just received a second message that confirms that they are still alive and are insisting that we go to their aid."

"Insisting? Who are they to order me around? I can wipe an entire planet out of existence with what I have on this vessel! It's why the pirates keep coming. Tell them we can't help them and be done with it. Then initiate a jump to the next quadrant." Lauren was met with open air through the communications link. "Hale are you still there? Did you hear me?" Lauren decided to hop onto her hover disc and head towards the bridge.

After a few more seconds Hales voice returned, "permission to speak freely Matriach?"

Lauren sighed as she glided effortlessly through the long stretching corridors of the enormous ship. "Granted. Speak your mind, Hale. You think we should help them even though their mere presence upon this ship is unwarranted and unwelcome!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am. I know you are not happy with the Elders for sending a team of soldiers here..."

Lauren took the corner fast, her shimmering flying disc moving up the wall as she effectively surfed through the corridors. "They have no authority over me! One little accident on the last exploration and they think I need protection! It's preposterous!"

"Yes, ma'am, but the people aboard this stranded shuttle are just following orders. They require help and we can easily dispose of the Rancor Destroyer before they even notice what the Genesis is. It is the Elders you are angry at not these soldiers..."

Lauren did not respond as she came to a halt in front of the elevator that would take her up to the bridge. She deactivated her Hover Disc and placed the shiny silver circle, that now fit in the palm of her hand into the utility pocket of her trousers. Moments later she exited the elevator and joined Hale at the console. "You have their coordinates?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Her anger had cooled somewhat and it diminished completely when she looked at her friend, "Set course to pick up these soldiers," she said with a sigh that only made Hale smile wider.

Genesis came out of warp and was instantly in visual distance of the Rancor Destroyer. Genesis was the size of a space station and was rarely recognised on sight. That gave Lauren the advantage in this situation. The destroyer fired several torpedo's which did nothing to the Genesis' superior shields and Lauren shook her head as the opposing ship locked onto her vessel to fire again.

"Should I return fire?" Hale asked, looking at Lauren, the Genesis' mother.

"Destroy them. We can't allow them to spread the word on our location. We have enough problems without having every pirate in the galaxy trying to take my ship."

"Aye, Aye, Matirach." Hale touched several keys on the main weapons console and locked on to the smaller, inferior vessel that was between them and the stranded soldiers sent by the Elders. "Locked on, Lauren."

"Fire!"

The laser cannons fired a series of three shots which blew the Rancor Destoyer into oblivion with no question of survivors. "Lock onto the stranded shuttle and teleport it straight into the hangar. Send them a communication to not disembark their shuttle upon arrival or they will be fired upon. Is that understood? I will go and greet these unwanted guests myself!" Lauren didn't wait for a response before exiting the bridge and surfing her way through almost ten kilometres of long winding corridors to the hangar bay.

* * *

Bo and Mackenzie were sealing up the final edge of the patch (which was a console hatch that Bruce had commandeered from one of the computer panels within the shuttle, much to Vex's horror), with some extra strong hold industrial gel, when the sound of weapon fire caught their attention. Vex's voice sounded through her helmet to inform the commander that the cavalry had arrived and was being fired upon by the destroyer. The asteroids and meteoroids surrounding them on all sides made it impossible to see much, that was until a huge fiery explosion lit up the darkness.

Moments later Vex was telling Bo to haul ass and get back into the shuttle for immediate teleportation to the Genesis. The commander ordered Mac to abandon the tools and hustled her back into the small ship which was soon dematerialising from the rough and rocky terrain of the asteroid and re-materialising onto the smooth, metallic deck of a humongous hangar filled with numerous ships and shuttles of all shapes and sizes. "Holy Shit! This ship must be huge!"

"Mac, Hammer... Load up the gear," Bo ordered. "Vex, is the air breathable within the hangar? Will I still need the suit."

Vex checked the sensors before responding, "Yes, Commander, the air is breathable, but I was informed that we are not to leave the ship until someone is here to greet us."

"I don't take orders from these people! Prepare to disembark, that's an order."

Vex turned in his chair to face his commanding officer, "They said they would shoot us if we left the ship before our welcoming committee arrives."

Bo scoffed, "they won't shoot us. They wouldn't dare, The Elders would be pissed if they shot us and the Galactic Alliance would rain holy fire upon them." Bo grabbed her Rifle from the rack and headed to the main door and pulled the lever and stepped into the small decontamination chamber. The commander poked her head back into the main section of the shuttle and addressed her squad, "Stay inside until I give you the signal that it's safe to come out." Then she slammed her fist into the button, closing the inner door and allowed the room to do its thing before opening the outer door and allowing her access to the hangar.

Lauren arrived just in time to see a striking, brunette clad in full Alliance military garb, exit the small transport shuttle with a high powered rifle at the ready. Lauren noticed the stripes and insignia's as her eyes took in the sight of the Genesis' new guest and realised this was the leader of her newly appointed protection squad. She heard the automated turret guns come out of the defence towers surrounding the huge hangar and aim their barrels at the small shuttle and the woman that had just exited it.

"I would have thought a soldier would be better at following orders," Lauren said as she came into the open and in the sights of the brunette, who had stopped in her tracks when she noticed the multitude of firepower aimed right at her.

Bo turned her attention to the blonde striding towards her with purpose, her face set in a hard line of obvious displeasure at her presence. "There are very few people I need to take orders from and I highly doubt that you are one of them," Bo retorted, her voice arrogant with a tinge of annoyance. "I would have thought you would have been a little more grateful for the Alliances help."

"Well, you'd be wrong! I operate outside the Galactic Alliances jurisdiction and do not have to abide by their rules and regulations. I am extending them a courtesy in allowing you aboard my vessel, so you will treat me as if I am your commanding officer, or you can get back in that tiny ship and piss off!"

"Look Lady!..."

Lauren stopped directly in from of the scowling soldier and poked her in the chest, "No, you look. I am The Matriarch of this ship and with a mere thought I could blow you and your little ship to kingdom come. You are not on the battlefield now and your attitude and attempts at Alliance intimidation will not fly with me. The Elders are just looking after a very essential and lucrative commodity to ensure that they remain the second most powerful force in this universe and I will tolerate it because they provide a lot of income from our dealings, but the minute I decide that you and your team are too much trouble I will remove you from Genesis. Have I made myself clear?"

"Is this some kind of joke? The Galactic Alliance IS the most powerful force in this galaxy, who else could possibly be more powerful than them?"

Bo was looking at Lauren as if she was a crazy person and it pissed her off immensely. She rarely felt the need to boast and exert her power, but the woman standing in front of her, with her arrogance and self importance had her doing exactly what she hated doing. "I am," she hissed. "Genesis and I are the most powerful force in the galaxy."

* * *

**Author's Note: So this little idea has been floating around in my head for months and I finally managed to get started on it. The question is if you, my faithful readers are interested in me continuing it. Please let me know your thoughts because you guys have always been good at showing me your support. ;)**

**I would like to say a big thank you to my girlfriend, Rafi who has been incredibly supportive as I talked about my scattered ideas for not just this story but my others a well. **

**Another carving chapter will be getting written as well as Dusty Love over the coming week or so. But I wanted to post a chapter of this to see if you will embrace it like my other stories. :) Thank you again.**

**Doccubus21**

**xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter two.**

* * *

Bo bit her tongue and swallowed the laugh of disbelief that threatened to erupt from her. The look of determined belief and the inflection of truth in The Matriarch's statement gave the commander pause. Her finger twitched on the trigger guard of her rifle. She hadn't expected this kind of open hostility upon her and her squad's arrival. Bo decided to say just that, to break the long silence that was growing between them.

"Our greeting has certainly been more hostile than expected. I had no idea our presence was going to be unwelcome. People are usually thankful and grateful for the alliances assistance and I was made to believe that this mission was of the utmost importance. Why else would they have sent ME! I am a decorated officer and my team is elite. We have turned the tides on a losing battle to bring the alliance to victory. Why would the most powerful being in the universe need a squadron of bodyguards?"

Lauren pursed her lips at this woman's arrogance. "So I should feel honoured to have you on my ship?"

Bo stood up a little straighter and lifted her head and looked at Lauren with her steely gaze that had been known to make people tremble. The Matriarch didn't even flinch, "A little gratitude would be nice, yes. And putting away the guns that have me in their sights would go a long way in easing the tension in this hangar right now."

The Matriarch surprised Bo by throwing her head back and laughing. The sound echoed throughout the cavernous docking area and it unsettled the Commander more than the turrets did. Bo was rarely caught off balance, but she honestly wasn't sure what to make of the woman standing in front of her. The musical laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started and Lauren was once again looking at her as if she was an insect that should be squashed for being a nuisance.

"You exited your shuttle with your gun at the ready and have had it pointed at my person since we started conversing. Could that not be considered equally hostile? Especially seeing as you have been sent here to protect me, not shoot me."

Bo looked down at her rifle, which was in fact pointed at Lauren. "Force of habit. I haven't stayed alive all this time by being trustworthy of strangers." Bo lowered her gun and let it hang by the strap against her side. "Is that better? Now you."

"Very well." Lauren raised an arm that had a shimmery silver bracelet attached to it. Using her other hand, she swiped a finger across the shiny material and a small screen lit up beneath her fingers. With a simple command the turrets returned into their towers. Lauren plugged in another command into her device before lowering her arms to her sides once more. "Please give your signal to the rest of your party that they are now free to disembark the shuttle."

"Finally," Mac cried out, slamming her fist against the door and dragging a crate out with her.

Bruce carried two weapons cases upon his huge shoulders. He had to turn sideways in order to fit through the door. Vex followed behind the big man and took in a big breath of the fresh air once his feet hit the floor of the Genesis.

"Just leave the equipment there for the moment and get into formation behind me!," Bo barked to her squad.

Bo introduced the three soldiers to Lauren and she greeted them with a lot more cordiality than she had her. "Welcome aboard the Genesis. I am sure that your journey as been a tiresome one and we will get you and your gear to the sleeping quarters immediately." Lauren let out a cry in a dialect that Bo did not recognise and the commander was once again standing in battle readiness as a half dozen creatures that stood at only half her height came out of nowhere with several hover carts to transport her squad and their belongings. They had fuzzy little bodies that came in a variety of different colours and pig like snouts. But every single one of the creatures seemed to have distinct and different black markings in various forms of circles and stripes that made each of the creatures unique.

"Where the hell did they come from and what the hell are they?," Bo asked, her tone a mix of uncertainty and curiosity.

Lauren's friendly face was gone once more and Bo wondered why the Matriarch seemed to dislike her so much. "They are valuable members of my crew and descend from a lost civilization called The Orai. They are sweet natured, loyal and incredibly smart. There are several hundred on this ship and I would appreciate if you just left them to their work if you encounter them during your stay upon my vessel.

"I think they're cute!" Vex said as he happily climbed aboard the first hover cart. Lauren shared another small smile with Bo's navigator.

_Why don't I get a smile?,_ Bo thought and then frowned at why she cared whether this woman treated her well or not.

Lauren accessed communications with Hale on the bridge, "Hale?"

"Yes, Matriarch?"

"Where are we housing our guests for their stay?"

"They are staying on deck C, ma'am, and the Commander will be in the state cabin beside you on deck A."

Lauren scowled, "Excuse me a moment." Either the Matriarch didn't know that her voice, no matter how low it was spoken, was amplified in the hangar or she just didn't care, but Bo heard it all. "Why can't she stay in the same quarters as the rest of her squad?"

Bo had been about to insist that she be stationed with her squad, but seeing the discomfort The Matriarch found with having Bo next to her own living quarters, made her keep her mouth shut. The woman had been difficult and ungracious since she had set foot on the Genesis' deck, so the commander felt a spike of joy at returning some discomfort on her in return. Bo broke through whatever efforts Lauren was trying to wiggle her way out of Hale's sleeping arrangements. "That sounds perfect! I Would prefer to be closer to you. I have been ordered to keep you safe and alive at all costs, after all."

Lauren slammed a finger down on her communicator cutting off her connection to her man on the bridge and turned to face the Commander. "Fine! But I don't need a damn babysitter! Especially on my own damn ship!"

"Better safe than sorry. The Elders told me pirates have attempted to board and take over Genesis twice in the last month."

Lauren sneered at Bo. She could tell that the brainwashed alliance flunky was enjoying rubbing Lauren's face in the fact that she would be stuck with her and the other members of her team for quite some time. "They try and they fail. I am in no danger on board this ship, her defences are too damn strong." Lauren paused and spoke to one of her small crew members in their native tongue, who rushed off and returned a few moments later with a stack of items. Lauren took the items from him and started to hand them out as she spoke. Here is a data tablet with the necessary information you need to get around the ship and this is your own personal hover disc so that you can get around quicker. She paused in front of Bruce, "I may need to modify a hover disc for you. The generic one may fail to fly reliably with your body size and weight. I will have it delivered to your room by the time you are up from your rest cycle."

Bruce smiled, "thank you, ma'am."

Lauren continued to lay out the fine points of what her new visitors needed to do to be safe when the next foolhardy party of pirates thought they could take Genesis from her. "When you awaken from your rest cycle and have eaten, I will require you all to have a simple injection and a chip inserted at the base of your necks. So please do not postpone coming to the infirmary straight after finishing up at the mess hall. The Orai will now take you to your rooms." Lauren turned to the commander who seemed to have gotten very pale and extremely agitated. Even more agitated than she already had been, that is. "I suppose I shall escort you to your living quarters seeing as Hale has put you right next to me."

"I will not be having any injections administered by you or anybody and I can find my own damn way to my cabin," Bo exclaimed through clenched teeth, before promptly activating her hover disc and disappearing at full speed and precision out of the hangar.

Lauren cursed before turning her attention to the remaining soldiers who were glancing at each other knowingly. "Would one of you care to tell me what the hell just happened!"

Mac went for the flippant and sarcastic response, "I thought that would be rather obvious, the Commander does not care for needles of any kind. She hasn't had one for years."

"Well, that is absurd and out of the question. Unless she would like to die with the next wave of pirates, she WILL have an injection."

The soldiers once again communicated silently between themselves. "What do you mean she will die?," Vex asked uncertainly.

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Upon enemy boardings Genesis releases pathogens into the oxygen supply. Up to a dozen deadly plagues are released and if you have not had the injection administered and you breath the ship's air you will become sick and incapacitated within the hour and die a horrible and painful death."

There were collective exclamations of colourful expletives from several alien dialects at the explanation of Genesis' primary defence system. Mackenzie spoke again, but this time her tone was serious, "Bruce? Will you fill the Matriarch in on what happened to provoke our Commanders phobia. You were there and would be able to shed the best light on the incident. While we are moving towards our bunks if you could, I really need some fraking sleep."

"Matriarch?," Bruce said softly in his deep baritone voice and motioned to the remaining space of the seat he sat upon.

"Very well." Lauren motioned for the Orai in the hover cart holding Vex and Mac to disembark for the crew cabins on deck C. She then climbed into the second cart and squeezed in beside Bruce. The bulky soldier tried to move a little more to give Lauren some more room, but she patted him on the leg and shook her head. "It's okay, Bruce. I am snug, but comfortable enough... please just tell me why your Commander has refused to have this crucial injection."

Bruce shifted a little more, Lauren wasn't sure whether it was to get comfortable or if it was the discomfort he felt having to tell this particular story. The Matriarch had a feeling that she may be in for quite a tale as an explanation for Bo's irrational fear and behaviour and she also had a feeling that the Commander would not be pleased with her soldier for sharing it. Bo's phobia would be seen as a weakness and warriors in command are not supposed to show weakness, especially soldiers as highly decorated as Commander Bo Dennis.

Lauren was brought out of her thoughts as Bruce started to speak in a hushed tone, "Three years ago, myself and Commander Dennis were captured by enemy insurgents. We were beaten and tortured for days. They tried everything to get the Intel that she carried, including sticking needles into my Commander's eyes while I watched helplessly chained to a cave wall."

Lauren gasped and held a hand over her mouth. She took a moment to get her thoughts in order. _No wonder she doesn't like the sight of needles! To have been made to watch them coming towards you and not being able to stop it! _Lauren shuddered at the thought. "I have read about this form of torture, but all the accounts I have read resulted in the torture victims being permanently blinded. There is absolutely no visual evidence that your Commander has ever endured such a horrible and painful act."

"Believe me when I say it did happen. I still have nightmares about it sometimes. I was forced to watch as she screamed and still she refused to give them what they wanted. They could not figure out how she managed to survive and not break, giving them the information they so desperately wanted. They were even more surprised when she managed to break her bonds and proceeded to kill each and every one of our tormentors with her bare hands."

"I find that hard to believe also," Lauren responded honestly.

"They did not know that she was a child of the Nano Project," Bruce replied. The Matriarch halted their progress to the crew's quarters upon this new piece of information. Lauren's mind swam as she recalled instantly everything she knew about the Nano Project. "Ma'am?" Bruce questioned upon them stopping.

Lauren turned her surprised and curious eye to the man sitting beside her. "We are just around the corner from your sleeping quarters, but please humour my presence for a little longer."

Bruce nodded, "Very well. You know of the Nano Project."

Lauren nodded in acquiescence, "A little. There was a lot of secrecy surrounding the project and there were so many half truths and lies folded in within the truth that it was hard to decipher what information was true and what was false."

Bruce grunted in response, "Ain't that the truth! The project was highly classified and even I only know what the Commander has graciously shared with me. I know that Bo Dennis was not the name she was born with. I am not sure if she even remembers what her birth name was before she was ripped away from her family and taken to that facility. She has said that she is one of only a handful of subjects that actually managed to fully merge with the nanomites within her. She is as strong as me and twice as fast. The Commander can take considerable amounts of damage and heals substantially faster than normal. She says she does not remember much of her time before the nanomites were introduced into her system. I am afraid that that is all the information I have and I probably shouldn't have told you any of it. If the Commander finds out she will more than likely hang me upside down by my ankles for days."

"I understand and I will try to ensure that she doesn't find out. I will, however, produce another way to dispense the antidote for your Commander."

"She will be suspicious as to why you have gone to so much trouble and that you know about her phobia for needles."

Lauren tapped the Orai on the shoulder to get them moving again. "Let me worry about that, Bruce. Her bark seems worse than her bite. Besides, you were sent here to protect me, so I think I will be reasonably safe from your Commander's wrath."

"If you say so, Matriarch," Bruce replied as he stepped off the hover cart upon arrival. Mackenzie and Vex had already selected their bunks and were putting their belongings away.

Lauren stepped down and engaged her hover disc, "I will take my leave now and will see you all in the infirmary tomorrow."

She zoomed off without waiting for the mumbles of farewell. Lauren's mind was filled with so many questions about the woman that had been sent here by The Elders. The leaders of the alliance either truly did care about her safety after the continued assaults by the pirates and her mishap on the last exploratory mission she had gone on, or they were concerned that she may challenge their imaginary position of power in the galaxy. Either way, she would try to curb her dislike for Commander Bo Dennis, if for nothing else, but to satisfy the burning curiosity that now churned within her to learn more about the Genesis' new visitor.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you for the huge response! Now that you have read another chapter, I sincerely hope that you aren't disappointed and will show me by dropping me a little review. ;)**

**I would also like you to know that I have been contacted by Club Doccubus about another charity auction coming up next month and I have agreed to participate. This year will be something special though, so get saving to bid. This year Rafi/the sparkling and myself have decided to combine our talents and offer the winning bidder: a doccubus story written by me using the winners idea, plus a cover by my very talented and remarkable girlfriend Rafi/thesparklingblue. (She is responsible for my amazing Dusty Love cover which I am also planning to offer a hi-res copy of that cover to bid on for the auction.) I will give you all more information as it comes about a great opportunity to raise money for a charity in the name of Doccubus!**

**Reality Love Bites will be next. I try to get a chapter out every week for at least one story, health issues and real life permitting. Enjoy your weekend and take care. **

**Doccubus21**

**xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter three.**

* * *

Lauren jabbed her finger onto the button for the third time and waited for a response. She had stopped outside the Commanders state room on the way to her own, feeling the need to apologise for her attitude earlier, but now she was getting angry all over again. _Is she seriously going to ignore me! Pretty damn childish! _

The Matriarch pondered whether she had been rude enough to deserve this kind of behaviour and shook her head, dismissing the thought almost as soon as she thought of it. Bo Dennis had been equally confrontational and everything that she had said during their first meeting had been factual and honest. It wasn't her fault that the soldier hadn't liked her statements about her beloved Alliance.

Lauren pushed the button again, feeling like a complete idiot standing outside in the deserted corridor. She accessed her bracelet control console and asked the ship to scan the room for life signs before using her master code to open the door and confirming that the living quarters were missing one necessary element... the commander. The Matriarch switched to Comms and hailed her second in command on the bridge.

"Hale, one of our visitors seems to have gotten lost on their way to their accommodations, please tell me you have eyes on the wandering Commander!" Lauren waited impatiently for a reply which seemed longer than the few seconds it actually was.

"Affirmative, Matriarch. I have been monitoring her movements."

Lauren sighed, "And..."

"And she is behaving herself as she takes in her surroundings and isn't interfering with the Orai and their work," Hale responded calmly.

"Where is she, Hale?" Lauren barked impatiently, knowing that her friend was being purposely obtuse.

She heard him sigh, "Commander Dennis is in the research and storage library, Matriarch."

"And you didn't contact me immediately because..."

"Because all the Commander has been doing is observing, she hasn't touched anything or bothered any of the Orai." Hale's tone changed, "Lauren, I implore you to get some rest. It has been several cycles since you have had any decent rest. I will keep my eye on our wayward visitor and ensure that she doesn't get into any trouble and I will inform you as soon as she gets to her sleeping quarters. Okay?"

Lauren switched from regular voice Comms to visual and audio so that Hale could see her face, "Not fair using the best friend voice, Hale. Not fair at all."

His response was to smile wide at The Matriarch. "Does that mean you'll go and get some rest, so I stop worrying?"

Lauren was already heading to her quarters, "As soon as she gets back, Hale... to the second, you hear me?"

He smiled again, "To the second, I promise. Rest well, Matriarch."'

Lauren didn't respond. She just gave him a small smile in return before terminating the transmission. She had a quick wash and changed into her night attire and crawled under the covers of her bed. It didn't take long for the exhaustion that she had been holding at bay to overcome her, sending her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Bo had been navigating through the seemingly endless corridors on her hover disc, her anger and frustration at their ungrateful host subsiding, when she had come across one of those strange creatures upon turning a corner. She had expertly slowed down and had trailed silently behind the furry creature. If the Orai registered her presence, it never acknowledged it. After a while Bo considered just heading to her room as the Orai continued to shuffle along corridor after corridor, but just before she was about to change course, the orange fuzzy Orai accessed a keypad and entered a room. Bo sped up and managed to slip inside before the room closed behind the Matriarch's little minion. Bo deactivated her hover disc and with a little flick of her foot caught the inactive device in her hand and slipped it into her pocket and pulled out the data pad instead. Accessing the map showed her to be in a zone marked only as LR1 with 'authorised personnel' flashing below it. Bo ignored the warning and put the tablet back into her pocket and for the first time took in her surroundings.

Her eyes widened as she turned around in a circle. "Whoa," was all the Commander could manage as she started to walk further into the massive room that was filled with dozens upon dozens of Orai working on various different machines and computers. This room had to be larger than the hangar and Bo wondered just how big Genesis was. None of the Orai looked up or paid any attention to Bo as she walked past them looking over their heads at what they were doing. There were giant vats filled with different coloured liquids and Bo was sure that she had seen things floating around in some of them. She jumped in surprise when one of the huge cylindrical containers was sent up into the air and whisked away into the distance to join the thousands of other containers that lined the walls. She couldn't even count the rows or fathom a guess on how many vessels were stored there.

Bo moved into the next row of furiously working Orai and saw a myriad of smaller vats, each filled with different unknown and wondrous creatures. No distinct details were clear because of the thick liquids that the specimens were being kept in, so she was unable to see clearly what lay inside. Bo glanced at one of the data screens to get a clearer picture of what floated inside these containers, but found the language was not recognizable to her so she continued to just watch silently as the Matriarch's little workers observed, analysed and reported their findings in near silence. The only sounds were mechanical as vats were moved from the workstations back to storage, the gurgling sounds of the thick liquid in those vats and the things that were moving and growing within them.

A gushing sound and several clicking sounds from a couple of Orai had her moving quickly to see what the commotion was about. Bo saw one of the vats draining and gawped at the creature that was left flopping around at the base. Another liquid replaced the bright orange-yellow goo, which Bo concluded was probably water as the creature started to swim around in it, no longer distressed. Sparks of electricity flowed up and down the blue, oblong body of the aquatic creature as it swam around the confines of its prison. Hundreds of thin tendrils reached out and stuck to the glass as Bo watched it in fascination. Without realising she moved closer to the glass mesmerized by the sparking tendrils that were growing and spreading across the surface of the container. Suddenly and without warning the tendrils pulled the creature's body against the glass to reveal it's mouth with rows upon rows of tiny needle like teeth. Bo jumped back as a spiked barb struck the vessel housing the creature causing it to crack. Several clicks and snorts from the Orai had the vat being drained once more to be replaced with another liquid that froze the creature within, before it could completely break through the container.

A beeping from her pocket had Bo fumbling for the tablet. She saw a nice looking man looking at her when she swiped her finger across the screen. "Perhaps you have seen enough for now, Commander Dennis. Myself or Matriarch Lewis would be more than happy to give you a tour of some of the wonders of the Genesis at a more convenient hour."

Bo gave the man a sheepish smile, "You've been keeping tabs on me the whole time, haven't you, Mr..."

"Hale, ma'am. Hale Santiago. And yes, I have."

"Well, Hale. After what I have just seen, I must say that I am incredibly curious to learn more about this ship, but I very much doubt that The Matriarch will be eager to show me around."

Bo smiled again when Hale chuckled, "She may surprise you, Commander Dennis. The Matriarch is not accustomed to a lot visitors, unless you count all the pirates that continually try to board and take over Genesis. She may take a while to warm up to sharing her ship with you."

"Our first meeting didn't exactly go well and she made it crystal clear that she is not happy with the alliance interfering in her business."

"She is a complex and proud woman, Commander Dennis and she is also my best friend. I want her safe and if she has to put up with a bunch of alliance soldiers in order to stay safe and alive, so be it! She will be worth the patience you will require to get to know her, I promise. Now, I'm afraid you should be expecting her shortly after arriving at your living quarters."

Bo actually winced at his words and Hales laughter echoed throughout the room as Bo began to head back the way she had come. "So she knows about my detour as well? That's just perfect! Now I know why you have just given me the pep talk about patience." Bo sighed as Hale just looked expectantly at her and didn't say anything. "I'll try, but no promises."

"Good enough. Thank you for listening, Commander."

"Please call me Bo. You aren't a part of my squad."

"Very well... Bo. Thank you and I am sure we will talk soon."

Bo nodded, "For the tour, perhaps?"

"Of course, though no one knows this ship better that The Matriarch."

"Don't hold your breath, Hale, you'll turn blue," Bo retorted before ending the communication. She put the tablet away after checking the directions that she needed to follow to get to her room before activating her hover disc and racing off down the deserted corridors...

* * *

Hale, true to his word, had awoken Lauren almost as soon as Bo had arrived from her excursion and The Matriarch checked the time as she dragged herself out of bed and splashed some cold water on her face. She had gotten a couple of hours sleep and Lauren instantly noticed the difference to her energy and mood levels. The Ecological Engineer and Explorer had been overworking herself for quite some time and she knew that she couldn't keep up the pace she had been doing forever and that perhaps the visitors could be a blessing in disguise to distract her for a while. Hale always told her that she took too many of the ships responsibilities on herself and that she should designate more of the Orai to help her. Lauren knew he was right, but she had always felt that the wellbeing and the running of Genesis fell to her. It was her legacy after all, her life mission to be the keeper of the galaxy's secrets and sources of biological life from planets that were still here, alive and prospering, to the planets and species long dead and forgotten. That burden fell on her and her alone.

Bo said, "enter", allowing The Matriarch admittance into her quarters and she was momentarily breathless as she took in the loose fitting pants and the tight tank top, both in a light powder blue and the golden hair that flowed around her shoulders. Bo also registered the small smile that formed on her mouth, the first sign of a more pleasant, less uptight and arrogant aspect of the woman in front of her. _She truly is a beautiful woman. She certainly looks a lot more approachable in her night clothes and I hope that I can manage a few more of those smiles as well. _

Lauren looked down at her attire before looking back at the Commander. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?," Lauren asked. She saw something in Bo Dennis' scrutiny that surprised her. There was a certain heat to her gaze that suggested that the Commander found her appearance desirable and she found her heart rate rising at the fact that this woman's carnal need may match her own.

She allowed her own gaze, to take in Bo's appearance. The soldier had removed the heavy armour and was just in the skin tight body mesh worn beneath it. Her body appeared curvaceous, yet muscular beneath her second skin. Lauren felt her body respond and she forced her eyes up to Bo's face and their eyes locked with a powerful mutual understanding that rocked her. Lauren closed those feelings down and looked away from that heavy, knowing gaze and cleared her throat. She needed to get things back in control and now! "Did you enjoy your foray at exploring my ship without permission?" Lauren said it without anger, but she knew Bo's hackles would rise anyway and she was right...

Bo was equally surprised by what had just transpired, but that moment hadn't lasted long. _And then she speaks,_ Bo thought to herself before retorting with, "I had a grand old time! Thanks so much for asking. Just get your lecture over with so that I can get some rack time. I haven't slept in a decent bed for a very long time and I still want to unpack some of my stuff.

Lauren glanced at the open crate and all the weapons that lay within. "That's an impressive amount of firepower. I was a little concerned about what type of bodyguard the alliance had sent when I saw the primitive weapon you walked out of your shuttle with."

_This woman is infuriating! _Bo picked up her favourite gun. "This is anything but a primitive weapon! What do you even know about weapons? You are a scientist and play with plants and animals all day! And for your information, I am the best of the best, lady! The alliance must think very highly of you to send me and my team, though for the life of me, I can't imagine why they would even bother!" Bo saw the flash of hurt in Lauren's eyes that was there for only a split second before arrogance and defiance replaced it and matched her own.

"That is a PK-345 Assault Rifle and in your crate I can see a PK-3 Pistol, equally primitive, and then there is the Plasma Canon, Several A-Class laser weapons and several dozen Proton Grenades. Have I left anything out?!" Lauren's jaw was set and Bo could see the muscles twitching beneath the wonderful high cheekbones. The Matriarch had also impressed her with the knowledge of her weapons. She was definitely not going to let the glorified librarian know that she was impressed though!

Bo picked up her so called 'primitive weapons'. "These guns are not primitive. I have modified them to be anything but primitive," Bo responded defensively.

An eyebrow went up in interest, "modified, how?"

Bo ejected the ammunition clip and popped out one of each of the rounds that were inside."

Lauren leaned closer to look at the interesting looking bullets that Bo held in her hand. "Modified ammunition."

"Yes and the clip can hold two different kinds at once. Using this switch I can choose to shoot incendiary rounds or these acid rounds. I also have armour piercing rounds, Cryo rounds and electrostatic rounds and all can be shot from this gun. Unlike the plasma and laser guns that have a tendency to overheat and require time to charge, these primitive guns with its mechanical parts, rarely fails me and that is why I brought it out of my shuttle with me."

Lauren nodded, a small smile forming, "I stand corrected. Your modifications are impressive."

Bo pulled out a small contraption that Lauren could not have possibly seen from her position. "You missed this." Bo smiled as Lauren's face showed that she didn't know what Bo was holding in her hand. Understandable because there were very few in existence, but she reveled in the look of non-recognition and curiosity regardless. She strapped the device onto her wrist, allowing the two concealed spikes to pierce her skin and felt the nanomites join her to the apparatus. She spied a glass sitting beside the sink in the adjoining bathroom and held her arm out in that direction and activated the device.

A rope of energy leapt out and encircled the glass. Bo flicked her wrist and brought the glass hurtling towards her. If it wasn't for her superior reflexes the glass would have smashed into her face instead of in her free hand. Bo looked up to see fascination and awe on the Matriarch's face and she smiled at the look she had managed to induce. "Obviously, I use it for larger objects when I'm in battle and I try to use it sparingly because it draws on my own energy, but it has gotten me out of some sticky situations in the past. It's kind of new to my arsenal, Vex and I worked on it for a while to get it right. I wish I had had it earlier, it could have prevented...," Bo's voice trailed off.

Lauren watched the soldier as she got lost in her memories and the blonde deduced that it was probably memories of her and Bruce's capture, though she couldn't be certain, so chose to remain silent.

"It's called The Lassso by my team," Bo said with a small smile when she was able to squash the images that had invaded her.

Lauren watched as Bo removed the contraption and noted the marks it left on her arm that disappeared after about a minute, fully healed. "It converges with the nanomites. Remarkable!," Lauren blurted before she could stop herself.

If the comment and the look on The Matrairch's face hadn't been so adorable, Bo would have been angry because it was obvious that one of the team had revealed her unique qualities to the woman who was affecting her with every nanosecond she spent in her presence. "Someone's been chatty," Bo said and the Matriarch managed to surprise her again by defending whoever it was.

"I pretty much forced it out of them by telling them that if you didn't get the vaccination and microchip you would inevitably die in the next attack on this ship. Which is true. So please do not punish your team for looking out for you."

"It's just a very private thing. Not many people know about me, besides my team and the council. Hell, there is only one doctor left alive from the top secret project and that is because he is the nephew of one of the council members, otherwise he would have been terminated as well!"

"Your secret is safe with me, Commander Dennis," Lauren responded softly.

"Please call me Bo."

There was more to the soldier than meets the eye and Lauren was curious about not only the scientific aspect of what made Bo unique, but also what lay beyond the battle hardened exterior of a warrior to the woman inside. "I can administer the antidote required to be unaffected by Genesis' first line of defence by other means if necessary, but you will barely feel the pressurised hypodermic being administered, I swear. Everyone has fears, whether they reveal them or not."

Bo sighed, the woman who had been so abrasive at their first meeting was completely different from the understanding woman sitting across from her. "You were told about where my ridiculous fear stems from?" Bo looked at Lauren intently.

"A little, yes. And it isn't ridiculous... Bo."

The alliance soldier was not prepared for how hearing the Matriarch using her name would feel._ You are being ridiculous, Bo Dennis. She is just a woman! An annoying, arrogant, bossy, but incredibly beautiful woman. Get over this insane attraction, right now!_

Lauren continued to speak, not noticing Bo's unusual reaction to her saying her name. "I have read about that form of torture and it is incredible that you survived it at all without permanent physical damage. A fear of needles is tiny compared to the scars you could have been left with."

"So that's how you know about the nanomites? Because you couldn't understand why on the outside I bore no marks of what I had to endure?" Lauren nodded in response and waited patiently hoping that Bo would open up a little more.

They just sat in silence, looking at one another, both showing on their faces that the comfortable feeling was unexpected to say the least. Bo wasn't a big sharer. She liked to keep her feelings and her personal experiences, painful or otherwise, to herself, but she had the urge to share herself with the Matriarch, if for nothing else, but to have her see that she wasn't just an alliance puppet.

Lauren decided to push just a little in an effort to learn something that had been bothering her since hearing Bruce's story. "How did they manage to capture you in the first place, may I ask? And how did they manage to keep you imprisoned for so long before you could escape?"

Bo gave Lauren a small smile, "While I am more resilient than most because of the nanomites, I'm not invincible. It was a paralysis grenade that caught Bruce and I off guard during a sweep of some ruins that were supposed to be free of insurgents. I let my guard down believing that the area was clear, I got complacent... It was my fault. I was drugged and weakened while I was chained and tortured. The nanomites focused on keeping the physical damage I endured from causing lasting, permanent damage. That's why it took longer for me to become immune to the drugs they were using to weaken me." Bo laughed a bitter laugh, "I know that the methods of administering vaccines and whatnot are nothing like the primitive tools they used to stab me in the eyes. I know that, I do! It's just my mind that makes it difficult to compartmentalise the fact that you won't be using anything like what they used. They are scars that the nanomites cannot heal."

Lauren pulled out a small black case from her loose bed pants, "Will you allow me to perform the necessary procedures on you?"

"Now?" Lauren nodded. "Tell me what these defences are first."

The Matriarch proceeded to tell Bo about the Genesis' first line of defence.

"Okay, so that's what the antidote is for. What is the microchip for?"

"The Genesis will release different animals onto the ship if the trespassers are wearing suits that prevent them from breathing the ship's air supply and catching the various illness' released. The creatures will not attack anyone with an active chip. There are also ways, with the use of some special optical and neural implants, to actually control the animals to help them search out and destroy anyone who threatens Genesis."

Bo was actually impressed and said, "What the hell do you need us for, then?"

Lauren laughed and this time it was just music to Bo's ears without all the arrogance and attitude behind it. "I had an accident on my last exploration endeavour. I almost died before Hale could get me back aboard Genesis. He and the Alliance did not want to risk that happening again and I refuse to stop exploring and finding new data and specimens for my archive. And that is why you are here. To protect me when I am off this ship and a little more vulnerable to accidents and unforeseen events that may put my life at risk."

"I'm surprised that you just admitted that the most powerful being in the universe may actually need some help," Bo responded and she instantly knew that she had just shattered the easy going communication that they had been enjoying. The Matriarch turned from warm and companionable to icy and unapproachable in seconds.

"Yes... Well, I don't have to like it. I still think they are overreacting and this whole thing is an inconvenience to say the very least. I will just do the vaccination and insert the chip and go, or if you prefer to do it with your team in the morning I will take my leave now."

_How did it go tits up so quickly?,_ Bo asked herself. She hadn't meant the comment to be insulting, but to someone so proud and unaccustomed to having people question her authority and power, it had come across that way. "Look, Lauren. I didn't mean..."

The clenched and twitching jaw was back in full force, "Just decide so I can go and we can both get some sleep and forget that I even bothered to try to make an effort to treat you as anything more than a pain in my ass!"

Bo could tell that Lauren wanted nothing more than to get out of her sight, so that made her decision easy. "I would like you to do it now if you wouldn't mind. I think it would be easier if I just got it out of the way. Thanks ever so much." Bo's voice dripped with fake pleasantries and her smile was forced and Lauren stood for a moment in uncertainty.

Lauren knew that Bo was getting her to do it now because the soldier sensed that she wanted to flee and she also saw that she had paled because of what was coming. The Matriarch felt that she may have overreacted to Bo's comment about needing help, but she would not apologise even though she kind of wanted to. Her pride wouldn't allow it and she approached Bo and proceeded to do what she had to do with mechanical professionalism and only spoke if she needed to. Lauren had let her guard down and she had let the commander see that she wasn't just a bossy and arrogant guardian of the Genesis. She had attempted to get to know the alliance soldier against her better judgement. _I won't make that mistake again!,_ she thought. "Move your hair so that I can make the small incision in your neck for the chip, please."

Even as Lauren had the thought, her body once again reacted to the woman sitting closely beside her. Her fingers traced over Bo's neck lightly, moving a few remaining strands of hair that the commander hadn't caught. Lauren finished up the process as quickly as she could because she realised that ignoring Bo was not going to be that simple. She had already managed to make an impression and peak her curiosity and attention. Bo had already put cracks in her shields and was crawling all over her skin...


	4. Chapter 4

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter four.**

* * *

"You've been avoiding her," Hale said as he took a sip of his drink. He was lounging on the sofa in Lauren's quarters and knew that he was poking the beast with his comment, but he had been enjoying getting to know the commander since the visitors had come aboard. And Lauren had spent a fair share of time with all the other soldiers from Bo's team. It was just the commander that she seemed to be going out of her way to avoid.

As expected Lauren glared at him and he just smiled in return. "I have not been avoiding her!"

"You were never able to lie very well, Lauren. What is it? You have barely spoken to Bo since the night of their arrival. She is quite agreeable and charming. She has asked about you a number of times and you have engaged yourself with all of the others to a certain degree."

Lauren frowned at her friend because she had enough trouble not thinking about Bo as it was, despite trying to be wherever Bo wasn't. "I have talked to her during the communal mealtimes that you organised," Lauren responded grumpily.

"And even then you act like it's a chore. You can't seem to get out of there fast enough with some excuse or another and she is always so charming and engaging with you."

_That's the problem,_ Lauren thought to herself and she couldn't keep eye contact with her friend and looked into the dark amber liquid in her glass before drinking it in one swallow hoping the aged spirit would soothe her nerves. She felt transparent whenever she was in the Commanders presence as if Bo could see the fight she was having with herself. The woman was engaging, charming and sexy as all hell! She often found herself entranced by the sheer beauty of the woman. Quite often Lauren had sat at her desk in the lab watching as Bo sparred with her squad in the gym wearing black short shorts and a black singlet, her muscles rippling and her skin shiny with perspiration as she moved with grace, speed and power, taking down all obstacles in her way. It was incredible to watch and she found herself hot and bothered afterwards, which made her feel ashamed for secretly watching the woman without her knowing.

But as the time went on Lauren felt that Bo knew that her attraction towards her was growing and the Commander had started to try to engage her in conversation and what could only be construed as light flirtation and it had annoyed The Matriarch that Bo was able to see through her so easily. Even now the thoughts about Bo brought her body alive with need and longing and it just made her angrier. "She rubs me the wrong way and is just so cocky and thinks she is so fucking special and sexy. She walks around my ship as if she owns it! And she has been spending a lot of time in the archive viewing room. You gave her an awful lot of information to view, Hale. Classified information!"

Hale wasn't perturbed by the switch in direction. His friend was fighting her attraction to the beautiful and strong brunette for all she was worth, but he felt that this time Lauren may not be able to shake it. That she may have finally met her match in Bo Dennis, who seemed determined to destroy Lauren's hardened shell and worm her way into his friend's heart. Bo had confessed to him that she was inexplicably drawn to Lauren, despite her prickly exterior. "She is a highly decorated alliance soldier and has a high level of Alliance clearance."

"Alliance clearance not MINE!" Lauren knew she was being ridiculous. She knew what Bo was looking for and she hoped that she found it, but she wasn't fond of feeling so out of control. She liked things just so and the arrival of Bo and her team had knocked everything askew. Lauren sighed and poured herself another drink. She motioned the bottle in Hale's direction and he nodded and allowed her to fill his glass as well.

"Do you want me to revoke her access to the archives?" Hale knew Lauren was just lashing out because the new additions to her ship were forcing her to disrupt her routine and actually interact with people other than him and the Orai that never questioned their mother, their queen. Lauren was unsettled and she had never felt comfortable in social situations. It took her a long time to warm up to people and when you could essentially live forever, even through death (if she wasn't away from Genesis for too long), well, she didn't feel it wise to get too attached to every person that crossed her path.

Lauren shook her head, "It doesn't matter. Let her look through the data crystals. I'm not sure that Genesis has what she needs, but I won't stop her from searching. Besides, it makes it easier to avoid her," she finished with a smile.

"I knew you were avoiding her!" Hale said triumphantly. "You are attracted to her, aren't you?"

Lauren shook her head and looked at her friend with such defeat in her eyes that he wanted to get out of his seat and rush to her side and hold her, but he knew she wouldn't want him to. "It doesn't matter, Hale. I can't allow myself to get attached and that goes double for Bo because she is a favourite of the Galactic Alliance Council for fucks sake.

Lauren's use of the old fashioned profanity made him laugh because he remembered the fascination Mackenzie had shown when Lauren had raved about how ridiculous it was that over the years, some of the best swear words had been morphed into inferior forms of themselves. In fact the young soldier had adapted her speech and now said 'fuck' instead of 'frak' because she agreed that it rolled off her tongue so much smoother. Lauren was wondering what had made him laugh after such a serious moment and the look she gave him must have informed him that she would like to be let into the joke. "Is Mac still asking you if there are other profanities that used to sound better eons ago?"

Lauren smiled fondly, "Yes, she seems determined to learn every single profanity that she can and in as many different dialects that I can teach her." A big grin lit up Lauren's entire face and Hale wished that his friend would smile like that more often and not just at him. "You like her, don't you?"

Hale shrugged, "She's a little firecracker mixed with a dose of crazy, what's not to like. We get along fine and it has been a while since we have been in port. I'm thinking about asking her to dinner when we get to Antrax to refill our supplies."

Lauren nodded, "I think that's a great idea, Hale. I know you are lonely. Would you like to stay a little longer on Antrax to unwind and get the kinks out before we move onto the next mission? I for one am heading straight to the Pleasure Den to see Madam Josephine to get my mind and body royally fucked so that I can stop getting so easily distracted by a certain Commander and refocus on the next exploration and recovery mission."

"Or you could take a page out of my book and ask Bo out to dinner."

"Hale, don't push this, I mean it. Do you want the extra few days leave in Antrax or not?!"

Hale raised his hands in the air, knowing that he had pushed too hard too soon. Lauren had admitted that she was attracted to Bo and that she was a distraction from her work. That spoke volumes of how much the Commander had managed to get under Lauren's skin so he would let it go and monitor the situation closely and if the opportunity arose to help Bo win his friend's heart he would take advantage of it. "I'm sorry. That's the end of it for now, I promise, because I really want those extra days of R&amp;R."

Lauren seemed satisfied by his promise and they started to talk about the supplies they needed to restock in Antrax before continuing their journey back to Old Earth.

But Lauren found her mind wandering back to Bo and if she would actually accept an invitation to dinner with her and if Lauren herself, actually wanted to do that or just bed the woman. _If I fucked her would she be out of my system? Probably,_ she answered herself. _It's just been too long without physical pleasure and the feel of a woman beneath my hands and that will be taken care of soon enough thanks to Madam Josephine. _Lauren satisfied with her reasoning concentrated back on Hale and the business at hand...

* * *

Bo rubbed her irritated and itchy eyes before ejecting the data crystal and casting it aside. The commander went to pull out the next one when the door chimed, indicating that someone was requesting entry to the secure viewing room. Bo swivelled in her seat to look at the monitor beside the door and saw Vex standing on the other side looking right up at the camera his lip thrust out in a pouting motion. Bo smiled and took pity on her eccentric, but brilliant, technical officer. Bo input the code to open the door and allowed her subordinate inside before closing the door again.

"Something I can do for you, Technical Officer Roberts?"

Vex saluted his superior officer, realising all too late why Mac had sent him to try to get The Commander out of this poky little room instead of going herself. "Sorry to interrupt, Commander. I know you said you didn't want to be disturbed, but..."

"Then why did you?!" Bo saw her squad member flinch and looked as if he wanted to bolt. Bo knew she had been irritable over the last few cycles and took pity on Vex, who had probably lost a bet to be the one standing in front of her right now. "At ease, Vex." Bo took a sip of the glass of water and screwed her face up at how warm it was. Vex took the glass from Bo and had the replicater produce a fresh glass of iced water for Bo and handed it to her with a smile. The commander drank the water in several large gulps relishing the way it cascaded down and soothing her parched throat. "Is there something you need?"

"We were hoping you would join us on the recreation deck for a drink, Commander. You've been in here for just over fourteen hours and we thought you may need a break." Vex said it bravely as if was expecting her to chew his head off and she felt bad for her behaviour toward her comrades.

"I haven't been the best person to be around lately, have I?" Vex hesitated, opening his mouth and then closing it again. "You have permission to speak freely, Vex."

"Honestly, we have barely seen you besides sparring and chow time. It's just not like you to be this reclusive... It's weird."

Bo laughed and it felt good. It also made Vex smile which was a nice added bonus. "I'm surprised you aren't off with your new best friend."

"What?," Vex asked in puzzlement.

"The Matriarch and you have been quite chummy lately, I hear."

Vex shrugged, "We have been working on some new equipment that she thought might help when we get into the field on Old Earth. She says that there is no knowing what has managed to survive from the devastation of the final blight which killed everyone who wasn't able to be re-homed on the other planets and space ports. Plus there is the possibility that there may be species that have mutated or even entirely new creatures that may be living in the wasteland of the origin humanoid planet. It's really quite interesting and exciting to be on a mission that isn't about extinguishing life, but seeking it out."

"Wow! You really have been hanging out with the keeper of all the universe's secrets, haven't you?"

"She is a fascinating woman. A little prickly and awkward if questions turn towards the personal, but if it's about her work she just lights up and is eager to share her experiences and knowledge."

"Maybe to you," Bo muttered under her breath as she cleaned up the room a little.

"What was that, Commander?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I am glad you have found someone who you can talk to about something other than weapons, explosives and tactics." _Now if only she would perhaps give me a little attention, _Bo thought to herself morosely. She had stayed holed up in this room, not just for the information she may gain, but also so she wouldn't go completely insane trying to break through the icy exterior that Lauren had erected after the encounter in her room that first night.

Vex hadn't noticed the slight change in Bo's mood as he continued to chatter about Lauren. "You should really stop by the workshop on the lower deck. Some of the stuff that she has down there is unreal!"

Bo suddenly wanted her peace and quiet again, but she knew she couldn't just hide in this room forever. "Vex, go on back up to the bar and get me a shit load of drinks lined up. I'll get myself cleaned up a little and be right there to drink you all under the table."

"You're on, Commander!," Vex responded happily and exited the room with an excited skip in his step.

Bo headed to her room, pausing for a moment outside Lauren's quarters before shaking her head and moving on. She had tried for days to get some sort of repartee going between herself and Lauren, but the stubborn woman had completely shut her down. Hale had implored her not to give up, but after a while it got so frustrating that she had chosen to retreat to the viewing room instead. And that was where she stayed unless she was working out and sparring with her squad, in her room or going through the torture of the communal meal times. Bo splashed some water on her face and looked at herself in the reflective surface above the sink. There had been moments when she had felt that Lauren wanted to thaw out her icy attitude towards her and that had made her continue to try to win a comment or a smile from the blonde across the table at meal times.

"I wasn't mistaken. There is something there." Bo shook her head. _And now I'm talking to myself. It really is time for a drink! _She dried her face and fixed her hair into a loose ponytail before exiting the adjoining washroom and heading to the closet. _ If nothing else she wants you for your body, _her inner voice said as she shrugged into her favourite jacket and headed out of her room and jumped onto the hover disc with ease. Bo had felt Lauren's eyes on her at times during their meals and she had met that gaze head on without flinching. The Matriarch was beautiful and often had an ethereal glow about her. Bo wondered if anyone else saw how she shined. _Probably not. You're just horny and that will be rectified in a couple of days when we dock in Antrax. _Bo smiled at the thought of getting off this ship and stretching her legs. Genesis may be huge, but Lauren seemed to fill it up with her presence and it consumed Bo like nothing ever had. _You'll see. After taking care of your needs on Antrax, you'll be Lauren who?_ Bo tried to trust that voice in her head, but she had a feeling that shaking off Lauren wouldn't be that easy...


	5. Chapter 5

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter Five.**

* * *

"Wow! She handles like a dream. Thanks for letting me pilot this beautiful piece of engineering. Well, one of many that you have docked in the hangar of Genesis. Do you think I will get a chance to take any of the others out while we are here on this protection detail?" Vex continued to run his hands over the array of buttons while he waited for the Antrax control centre to give him clearance to dock.

Lauren smiled and found Vex's excitement and childlike awe endearing. "You can take us down to Old Earth in the cruiser that I have outfitted for my exploration missions if you like. Hale usually stays with Genesis when I go off collecting samples and seeking relics and lost histories. Just in case something goes wrong."

"Like what happened on your last exploration mission?" Mackenzie ruffled Vex's hair, knowing how much it annoyed him, while focusing her curiosity at The Matriarch sitting beside him.

"Quit it! You know it takes ages to get my hair to look this perfect in its chaotic, no gravity style," Vex exclaimed as he swatted at his comrades' hands.

"Is the commander still in the Secure Comms Room?" Lauren asked, trying to change the subject, but the young soldier wasn't easily thrown off course it seemed.

"Yeah, she is still in there briefing the council. Bunch of Blowhards! This is our first time off the Genesis and you are insisting that we won't need to guard you. What is there possibly to report for it to take this long! But you are trying to change the subject, Madam Matriarch!" Lauren rolled her eyes at Mackenzie as she continued to chatter. _Hurry with the docking permissions already,_ she thought to herself.

" I mean, that's the reason we were sent here in the first place, right? Something seriously went wrong on your last mission and the Bigwigs don't want to risk you killing yourself on the next one."

"You should probably just tell us or she'll follow you around for the next three days until you do," Bruce said coming up behind Mackenzie and resting his huge hands upon her tiny shoulders.

Lauren looked over at Hale, who just grinned and sat back with his hands behind his head. "A little help?"

Her friend just shook his head and continued to smile, "Nah. You got this. It's story time, Lauren. Let them hear it. There is a huge line up of ships wanting to dock so it could be a while."

"I have PRIORITY clearance!," she griped back.

Hale shrugged, "They've had some kind of breach in one of the sectors. A few crates of Fire Skitterer's got loose and they are having trouble putting out the fires they are causing as they try to round them up."

Lauren shook her head in disbelief, "That's one of the problems having so many mercenaries, merchants and smugglers all in one place. Fucking chaos! Every single time!"

"But it's such a fun place to visit and let loose while getting all the supplies that we can't get through the regulated channels," Hale responded with a chuckle and a wink.

Lauren just grunted in response. She really couldn't wait to be docked and free to walk around the station that could cater to all her needs. She was wound so damned tight from being around Bo and her soldiers since they had come aboard the Genesis. She was also so wet and aching from being on the smaller cruiser with Bo sitting across from her for most of it.

The commander had laughed and joked with the rest of her team, but the brunette's gaze rarely left Lauren. There was heat and intensity in that gaze and through sheer stubbornness Lauren had met that gaze with equal intent. Lauren had licked her lips every so often to draw Bo's attention to her mouth and she had joined in the banter ensuring that she left a lot of comments holding double meanings and sexual undertones. She had noticed Bo shifting in her seat before she had shot up and declared that she was going to make a call to her superiors and scurrying away. The whole encounter had been calculated to show Bo that she could give as good as she got. Bo had been flirting and teasing her for weeks whenever she was in her presence and Lauren had finally decided to return the favour. It had taken Bo by surprise and she hoped that the Commander was as wet and aching as she was and that she was struggling in her conference with The Alliance Council.

Mackenzie waved a hand in front of The Matriarch's face. "You gonna give us story time while we're waiting or not? Come on! I'm right, aren't I. You almost died out there. In some old tomb or jungle..."

_Just get it over with. They are here for the long haul, you may as well get used to all the extra company and the questions that they bring with them._ Lauren listened to her inner voice and decided to finally reveal why The Council had sent Bo and her select team to protect her and Genesis. Lauren didn't notice the hiss of the Comm Room open and Bo step out of it, because she was already lost in her memories. "I didn't almost die. I did. It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last, even with a group of bodyguards looking after my ass."

"I don't understand," Vex said.

"Yeah. What he said," Mackenzie added, even more curious than before.

"I have a symbiotic link with Genesis and through that link my living consciousness can be maintained for a short period of time even if my body is dead. Within that time window, my proximity to the Genesis is important. If my bodily vessel is close enough to the Genesis it can transfer my essence into a new waiting cloned body aboard the ship. On the last mission I was stalked, attacked, mauled and killed by a wild Scar Beast and an electrical storm in the upper atmosphere made getting me back to Genesis impossible. The cruiser that myself and a few Orai had landed on the planet with would never have made it through that storm."

"Holy Shit! How did you get body snatched into your new body then?"

Lauren turned to Hale and noticed Bo for the first time. Her body reacted from the intensity of Bo's gaze. The woman was magnetic and Lauren was drawn to her like a tractor beam, unable to escape her enticing pull. Lauren forced her eyes to look at Hale instead as she finished her story. "Hale risked Genesis to get to me. He flew into the storm and managed to pinpoint and beam me on board. Genesis had to stay within the storm until it had completed my transference into my new body and suffered a lot of damage to her systems through the ordeal. It took several weeks to mend the damage and that is why The Council enrolled an elite team of soldiers to ensure that it doesn't happen again." Lauren was back to looking at Bo as she finished her recollection. She couldn't read The Commander's face and she looked away before she started reading something that wasn't there. Pity. Sadness. Happiness that Hale had managed to save her. Lauren shook her head and looked anywhere but at the woman that had put her entire life in a tailspin by doing absolutely nothing at all.

The crackling of the radio followed by a voice allowing them to finally dock gave Lauren the reprieve she needed. She didn't like to dwell on what could have been her final death and that of Genesis, her family's legacy, dying right along with her. "Put this bird down, Vex. I have places I need to be!"

"Yes, Matriarch, ma'am," Vex responded and instantly engaged the engines and headed towards their assigned docking wharf.

* * *

"Okay, so you all know when you need to be back aboard this ship?" Lauren looked at each and every person ensuring she got a nod or verbal acknowledgment from each and every one of them. "Good, because when I am ready to go, we go and I have no problem whatsoever in leaving anyone behind." She gave the group a smile to lighten the mood a little. "Have fun and ensure you pick up any luxury items you require before departure. There will be no more stops between here and Old Earth and trust me when I say that there won't be markets like this on that planet." The Matriarch turned towards the Promenade before realising that she had forgotten to caution Bo and her team about Antrax and its inhabitants.

Lauren grabbed Mackenzie by the arm as she walked by, forcing her to stop, turn and frown at her. "You forget something?"

"Yes. As you already know Antrax is not a part of the Galactic Alliance. I suggest..."

Lauren was cut off by Bo, who let out a snort and a snarky, "You got that right! This place if filled with mercenaries, criminals and bottom feeders. I can almost smell them from here. I don't understand why the alliance hasn't cleaned this cesspool up yet."

The Matriarch shot the Commander a look that had made many people shrink back and bow to her in the past, but not her, Bo just met her gaze with her usual arrogance and superiority. "It is comments like that that could get you killed!," Lauren shot back in frustration. The woman infuriated her on so many levels and she truly didn't understand why she continued to find her so damned attractive. _Because no one has ever challenged you and met you head on without backing down before,_ was her internal response. Lauren ignored the thought and turned towards the other members of Bo's team. The ones that she actually liked and said, "I recommend that you do not mention your status with the alliance to anyone. There is still a sector of law enforcement on Antrax, so if you end up getting into an altercation that gets you arrested or dead, I will not come to your aid. I have very important contacts at this station and I do not want people to know that I have been saddled with a team of Alliance bodyguards. Please respect and comply with my wishes or I will send you back to the council and you can explain to them why you failed in your mission to protect me and their interests. Is that understood."

"Yeah."

"No problem."

"Lay low. Got it. Can we go now?"

Lauren nodded to Bruce, Vex and Mackenzie respectively, and allowed them to walk away. Hale followed them and Lauren turned to Bo, who was seemingly pissed off with her warning and was furiously clenching her jaw trying to reel her anger in. "Do we have a problem? Please tell me that my instructions for how I want you to act while here on Antrax has gotten through to you or I will request that you just stay aboard the cruiser for the next three days so that I can ensure that you don't fuck my life up any more than you being here already has."

_This woman is un-fucking-believable!_ Bo thought to herself. "Look, Lady!" Lauren stepped forward and poked Bo in the chest. _She's bloody crazy too!_ The Commander wasn't used to people getting in her face like this. She was practically at the top of the food chain with the alliance. People followed her orders and not the other way around, but Bo's belly did a flip flop as The Matriarch came toe to toe with her, matching the look of defiance that she was shooting at the blonde.

"Don't 'look lady' me! I need the connections I have here. I can't have your patriotic pride and devotion for the gospel of the Galactic Alliance sullying up my reputation." Bo watched as Lauren's face softened just a little and she didn't miss the fact that both of them seemed to be breathing a little faster and shallower with the closeness between them. "I know that it must be a bitter pill to swallow having to take my orders, but I really need you to behave yourself and be careful who you talk to and what you say to them."

Bo was transfixed on Lauren's mouth as she spoke and the soldier inhaled sharply when Lauren's tongue flicked out and licked her lips, making them glisten and become even more inviting. Bo was almost disappointed when Lauren took a step back and effectively cut off the heat that had been building between them from standing so close. "Tell you what, why don't we both just stay together on the cruiser and work off this obvious sexual tension that has been building between us before we both spontaneously combust." Bo found herself disappointed when her comment backfired and the blonde's face closed down any other emotions besides denial.

"I have no idea what you are talking about! Can you just promise me that you will behave so that I can actually be somewhere that I want to be instead of standing here arguing with you?" Lauren ignored the stab of regret that burst forth from her gut when she saw the fleeting look of pain in Bo's eyes at her harsh words. She fought the urge to apologise.

"Just go, Matriarch. I will be a good little bodyguard and watch what I say about my precious Aliiance."

_Fuck! I took it too far,_ Lauren thought, the regret growing exponentially. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to take away the damage she had caused with her stubborn, bullheadedness and pride.

"Just go, Lauren. I will do as you ask. Just go."

Lauren closed her mouth and just gave her a small nod before turning and walking away. She barely registered the greetings from several high ranking officials from the upper levels of Antrax's trading and commerce division. Bo had said the words out loud and acknowledged the sexual awareness between them. It was too real now and she was left feeling frustrated and so incredibly horny that she decided to skip the shopping and head straight for the Den and the unearthly delights within that would rid her of her needs and hopefully have her thinking more clearly after several hours of sexual therapy.

Bo watched Lauren walk away with purpose, allowing a certain amount of distance to come between them before she followed her. Bo had discussed her fulfilling the alliances directives while the rest of them got to unwind and have a little fun outside the confines of Genesis. The Genesis was an enormous ship, easily as big as the space station, but it still became a little claustrophobic when there were only six people that they could actually communicate with. Lauren was the only one that could communicate with the Orai and she didn't seem to mind the solitude like her and her team did.

Duty was important to Bo and even though Lauren had insisted that she would be perfectly safe over their three day stay on Antrax, she had decided that she would do the job she was sent to do regardless. The Matriarch travelled through the busy market place and though small alley ways like a pro, knowing exactly where she was going. Bo followed her discreetly, her eyes watchful for any danger and her hand resting casually next to her holstered pistol concealed under her jacket. Bo ducked into a dark alcove in the wall as Lauren stopped and glanced back down the alley, before turning and disappearing into one of the doors that were scattered along either side. Bo waited a moment to ensure that The Matriarch wasn't just having a quick pit stop before continuing to another destination. When Lauren didn't reemerge into the alley Bo left her shadowed hiding place and approached the establishment that Lauren had entered.

Apart from the blinking sign above the door there were no other advertisements for what lay beyond. But Bo didn't need anything else but the sign to know what lay beyond the door. She couldn't help but smile as she waited for the door to open as she stepped directly in front of it. A soft pink light barely lit the small darkened hallway beyond the entrance of the Pleasure Den, the rest of the establishment hidden by a shimmering semitransparent curtain. Bo stepped into the hallway allowed the door to close behind her. Perhaps I'm not the only one whose body reacts to our confrontations as if it is a form of foreplay, Bo thought as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Lauren greeted Madam Josephine with a kiss to both of her flushed cheeks. "Matriarch! How wonderful to see you again. It's been too long!"

Lauren gave the slightly heavy and curvacious proprietor a genuine smile in return for her emphatic greeting. "I know I have come without an appointment, but please tell me that Octavia is available. You know how much she pleases me." Lauren had no doubt that if Octavia was booked for clients, and she had no doubt in her mind that she was, Madam Josephine would wipe those booking away in an instant for her.

Just as predicted Josephine opened the book and put lines through several names. "Not a problem, Matriarch. I will have this sorted for you momentarily and Octavia will be here for your pleasure before you have finished the drink that Sophia is going to get for you." Josephine snapped her fingers and a young, petite woman with shoulder length auburn hair and only a few thin strips of material covering her breasts and genitalia stepped out from behind one of the wispy coloured curtains with her preferred drink in hand. "Be right back!," Josephine's husky voice said as she disappeared through another curtain that led to her office so that she could reschedule or rearrange the appointments that Octavia was going to miss because of her unscheduled appearance.

Lauren took the drink offered and took a sip as she leaned leisurely against the counter waiting for Octavia to appear and sweep her away. Lauren almost dropped her glass when an unexpected and unwelcome voice broke through her racing thoughts of the things Octavia would be doing to her within the hour and all night long.

"Wow! Great minds think alike. I knew that I sensed the same proclivities within you that I have. Would you like to share? Or perhaps you should just take me up on my offer and we could get a room and you can let me rock your world. I knew you protested too much when I pointed out your undeniable attraction to me. Our foreplay sent you right into a whore house instead of my arms."

Lauren tried to ignore Bo. She closed her eyes and prayed that the soldier would just disappear and stop torturing her for the urges that she had no control over. When Lauren felt Bo press herself against her ass and felt Bo's breasts against her back, she was unable to ignore her anymore. "You followed me?"

Bo's hot breath brushed against her ear, "I was following my orders. I take my duty seriously. You are a very valuable and important asset remember, and I am here to ensure that you are taken care of."

Lauren bit her lip and suppressed a moan as Bo pushed her pelvis against her ass when she whispered the word asset to her. Lauren was incredibly turned on. Her core was hot, aching and incredibly wet, but she was also incredibly pissed off that Bo was treating this entire encounter as a joke. She felt exposed and vulnerable that Bo showed such disregard for her privacy. This was her sanctuary and Bo had barged her way in and made it uncomfortable for her.

Bo squeezed Lauren's ass, making the blonde fight the urge to turn around and either slap the soldier or kiss her till their lips were bruised and swollen. "You are a cork just itching to be popped and I will do it for free. What do you say?," Bo's breathy, sultry voice whispered in her ear.

"Eat me, Bo and fuck you for not just turning around and walking away when you saw where I went."

"I would love to feast on you, Lauren. Why are you continuing to fight this?"

Josephine came out from behind the curtain with a flourish and clapped her hands twice and both Lauren and Bo watched as one of the other curtains was pushed aside and a tall, athletic woman with generous breasts and short red hair, set against almost translucent skin stepped out from behind it. "Matriarch. I am at your service," Octavia said with a voice like liquid silk.

Lauren shivered and clenched her thighs together. The anticipation of what Octavia promised was almost too much for Lauren with Bo pressed up against her back and for a split second she almost invited Bo to join them before remembering how angry she was at Bo for following her and leaving her exposed and raw with need.

She had lost too many people that she had loved in her many lifetimes and Lauren had promised herself that she would not love anymore because she didn't think she could handle the loss of another lover. That is why she fought Bo and that is why she had to crush this inherent charisma and confidence that exuded from the Commader in waves.

Bo's hot breath against her ear once more brought her out of her turmoil, "Well she is breathtakingly beautiful, Matriarch. You have great taste, but I am sure that I can do anything that she can do and more."

Lauren steeled herself for what she had to do to preserve her own heart from the inevitable heartbreak that pursuing Bo would bring her. _No connections. No real emotions. All they bring is pain,_ Lauren chanted to herself.

Madam Joshephine seemed to notice Bo for the first time when Lauren just stood there not approaching Octavia as she stood stunning, naked and statuesque before her. "I'm sorry we do not accept walk ins from the street. Pleasure bestowed by appointment only."

"She is a colleague of mine and I would appreciate if you could accommodate her as you do for me if that isn't too much trouble."

"Of course, Matriarch! I am at your service," Madam Josephine responded, eager to please.

Lauren was relieved to feel Bo step back as shock and the first signs of seriousness replaced her teasing tone. "But I want you!"

Lauren took a breath and turned to face Bo. The Commander was intense and beautiful and Lauran had to repeat her mantra before being able to refuse her. _No connections. No real emotions. All they bring is pain. _"I don't want you."

Bo crossed her arms and held her ground, "I don't believe you. I know you are as attracted and turned on by me as I am you. I can practically smell it!"

"It's not going to happen. I can't allow it to happen. I am going to get what I need from Octavia and you are free to choose a companion to ease you of your own need to find release, but it will not be me. Madam Josephine will take care of you."

"What are you afraid of?"

Lauren lashed out. Bo was hitting too close to home. "I am afraid of nothing! Octavia knows what I like and how I like it."

"I can please you just as well as she can and I don't charge by the hour! It doesn't have to mean anything. A fuck can just be a fuck!"

Lauren's laugh was brittle and angry once more. She knew herself to know that sleeping with Bo would lead to more, no matter how much Bo wanted to convince her otherwise. "I always choose Octavia for a reason, Bo." Lauren held out her hand and Octavia instantly came to her side. "Show her what makes you so special, Octavia."

Bo's mouth fell open as Octavia parted her lips and her tongue slid out and flicked her own hardened nipple, before retreating back into her mouth. "Please accept my decision, Bo. I have nothing to offer you." Octavia reached out and turned Lauren's faced toward her and kissed her long and deep. She then took The Matriarch's hand and led her towards the billowing, flimsy curtain and away from Bo.

"At least tell me that I wasn't imagining it. That the desire and need I felt from you was real. Can you give me that?"

_Don't do it! She can read you like a data crystal,_ Lauren's inner voice implored, but she ignored it and looked back at Bo. "It was real. It is why I am here," she said, before turning and walking away.

Bo watched Lauren disappear out of sight. She was angry and sad at being rejected. Bo looked over at Josephine, "Get me two of your best and put me in the room right next to the Matriarch."

"At once!" The madam clapped her hands and two equally stunning women wearing next to nothing emerged from behind the curtains, but Bo didn't even acknowledge them as they guided her in the same direction that Lauren had disappeared. "And don't forget to put it on The Matriarch's tab," Bo said as she walked past Josephine.

Bo watched the two women as they pleasured each other on the large round bed. She ignored them when they beckoned for her to join them. There was only one woman that Bo wanted to touch and explore her body and she was in the next room. Bo had talked a lot with Hale over the last few weeks while Lauren actively avoided her whenever possible. Bo felt that she understood The Matriarch a little more. About why she isolates herself and stays stoic, distrustful and professional. Genesis had many secrets and she was the one that protected them. Bo had a feeling that if the Alliance thought that they could gain first hand access to these secrets by cutting out the middle man, they would. Bo had also wondered if Lauren's distrust of why the Counsil sent her and her team wasn't completely unfounded either. Bo decided she would be cautious with the Matriarch and back off a little if it meant she could get given the chance to get to know her better. Bo would protect Lauren with her life and she would pursue a friendship with the complex and unpredictable woman.

_She admitted it was real. This connection we have. There is hope for something more. I will not give up. I will dismantle the shields that she has erected around her heart. I will make her see beyond the alliance soldier, that I am more. I will make her see that she is worthy of loving me and being loved in return,_ Bo vowed to herself as she imagined that it was her and Lauren making love in front of her.

* * *

**Author's Note: If you haven't noticed I decided to change the rating of this story to M just to be safe as the content certainly went up a little in maturity. ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this installment and that you will give me the honour of reading a little sunshine from you all. Thank you each and every one of you for sticking with me and my stories. It means the world to me. Take care..**

**Doccubus21**

**xoxo **


	6. Chapter 6

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

_Lauren blinked her eyes as she registered several things at once. Her ears were ringing and the air was filled with smoke which made her eyes sting and water. It also caused her to cough as the polluted air filled her lungs, which in turn elicited an excruciating amount of pain to spread throughout her body._

The Matriarch had relived this memory, this nightmare, on and off for over a millennium. She willed herself to wake up, but as always it did little good and she was stuck reliving the memories of her twelve year old self.

_She made herself take shallower breaths in an effort to stop the pain as she looked down at the ragged piece of shrapnel that was protruding from her torso. Her ears began to pick up the thumping and crashing sounds as torpedo's hammered against Genesis' ever weakening shields. The initial blast had come as a surprise. No one had ever attacked Genesis before. It was a research vessel and posed no threat to anyone. Genesis had no weaponry to fight back with. Only strong shields that a robotic voice was informing anyone alive who could hear it were down to twenty percent. Lauren tried to remember where she was when the explosion had knocked her and her mother down._

_Mama! I was with Mama heading to the storeroom to gather some special ingredients for Grandpa's birthday dinner. Lauren cried out when more pain exploded in her gut when she tried to move. "Mama," Lauren rasped out. _

_The smoke was getting thicker and the incessant banging from the attack was getter louder by the second. Lauren turned her head and let out another cry, this time from shock and a different kind of pain. Her mother was lying several feet away and looking directly at her. But her mother wasn't seeing her, there was no awareness in those eyes, not any more. _

_A sob escaped Lauren as she continued to look into her mother's lifeless eyes and she registered the pool of blood the was expanding beneath her. _

_"Lauren! Call out, Poppit!" Lauren didn't register her grandfather's voice as he called out between spells of coughing, she just continued to stare back at her mother. _

_Lauren finally registered the voice when he was almost on top of her. "Poppa?" Her voice came out as barely a whisper. She forced herself to turn away from those lifeless eyes and saw her grandfather emerge through the smoke and look down at her._

_"Oh, thank you, Maker!" Lauren watched his eyes flick momentarily to his daughter before refocusing on his granddaughter. He knelt down and scooped Lauren up into his arms. "Hold on, Poppit. I've got you." _

_She smiled weakly at him, "I hurt and I'm tired, Poppa." She turned her head back to look at her mother again before looking back at her grandfather. "Mama's dead isn't she."_

_Lauren cried out as her grandfather stood with her still cradled in his arms. "I'm sorry, Lauren I know it hurts. Just hold on. Genesis will save you and make the pain go away, I promise."_

_"Did Genesis save mama? Is she already in her new body?"_

_Her grandfather didn't respond as he made his way unsteadily through the smoky corridor. He talked into his communications device, "Genesis! I've found her. Please tell me we have enough power in reserve to warp away from the armada before the shields fail!"_

_"Affirmative. Ready to go in five, four, three, two..." Lauren cried out again as her grandfather struggled to keep his footing as the Genesis surged into warp for several seconds before coming to an abrupt stop moments later._

_"Update Genesis! Are we out of immediate danger?"_

_"We should be able to avoid being detected by the enemy vessels. I have diverted power from non essential systems to cloak the ship. I have just enough power reserves to complete the life transference for the future Matriarch," Genesis responded in her ethereal almost lifelike voice. "Internal monitoring systems for Lauren are at critical levels. Her body has sustained too much internal damage and there is not enough time to create a younger vessel for her. The only viable option is transference into her ready made mature vessel."_

_"Shit! Well, there is little we can do about that. She will die otherwise and if she dies all hope for our survival will be lost with her. She is the next Matriarch and I am on my final transition. Prep the vessel, Genesis. We will be in the lab shortly."_

_"As you command Matriarch."_

_"Poppa? Am I going to die?" Lauren looked up at her grandfather as he rushed her towards the labs. Every laboured step causing pain to shoot from her impaled abdomen. "Aren't I too young for life transference?"_

_"I won't lose you too, Poppit. I won't! Do you trust me?" he asked as he entered the lab and lay her on the transference table and started hooking up the probes to transfer her life essence into the mature clone that lay in the storage container beside her._

_Lauren looked at herself through young Lauren's eyes. "She's old," the twelve year old said as she gazed upon the body of her twenty five year old clone._

_Her grandfather chuckled at his granddaughters observation. "I'm sorry, but Genesis does not have the strength and you don't have the time to wait for us to grow another younger vessel. Your essence will grow into her, I promise."_

_Lauren clutched at her stomach and coughed, spluttering up blood onto her grandfather's shirt. "I don't feel so good, Poppa," Lauren said softly, her eyes fluttering and the world around her going dark. The last things Lauren heard before waking up in her new body was Genesis informing her grandfather that cardiac arrest was imminent and her Poppa yelling out the transference initiation sequence before everything went black._

_Her dream flashed forward as it always did and Lauren stood looking down at her mother's body. "It should be me laying there," Lauren whispered._

_"Don't say that, Lauren! Never say that." Her grandfather came up beside her. "It isn't your fault."_

_"Why didn't Genesis save her?" Lauren asked, trying to understand as tears streamed down her face. Lauren leaned into her grandfather as he put his arm around her. It was strange that she could lay her head on his shoulder now, in her now older and taller form. "I'm still getting used to this new body and its strange sensations. It's weird."_

_"It has only been a couple of days. You'll get used to it." He patted her on her back in encouragement._

_"I know. I mean I feel like me, but I look in the mirror and it's not me, you know. I need new clothes. Mother's are too big for me and you still haven't answered the question about why Genesis couldn't save her. Stop Stalling!"_

_Instead of her grandfather answering it was Genesis' voice that filled the room. "I could not sustain my shields and get us to safety as well as save you both. My systems were failing and so were yours with your injuries..."_

_"So you chose to save me and put me in a body that I shouldn't be in for over ten more years. It doesn't make sense. Surely saving mother would have been easier!"_

_"Yes, It would have been easier," the ship responded._

_"Then why take the extra risk! You should have saved her!" Lauren was angry and fresh, hot tears streamed down her face. "I don't want to say goodbye to her. I want her to tell me to clean my room or make me one of her special cups of hot chocolate."_

_Genesis could feel Lauren's pain through the symbiotic bond, but she was not able to fully comprehend what her young Matriarch was feeling. Genesis may not have been fully synthetic machinery, but she also wasn't completely biologic. It was not an easy place to be when logic and survival came before love and loyalty. _

_"Our symbiotic bond was much stronger than the one I had with your mother. It is even stronger than the bond I have with your grandfather. It is stronger than any bond I have had with any of your ancestors. You will be the most powerful Matriarch to ever live and our lifespan will continue for countless generations so that we can continue to chronicle the past, present and future histories of this galaxy and beyond. It was the only choice, Lauren, but I am sorry that you are hurting because of it."_

_"It's okay, Genesis. You did the right thing," her grandfather said as he rubbed soothing circles on Lauren's back._

_"It's not okay! None of this is okay. What if I don't want to be Matriarch!"_

_"Lauren, you are young and I know that you should not have to be dealing with this loss at such a young age, but you are going to have to get used to it," her grandfather said softly, but sternly._

_Lauren pulled away from her grandfather, "Why? Why do I have to get used to it?" She was shaking with anger and grief and didn't understand why her grandfather seemed so unaffected by his daughter's death. "Don't you care that she is dead at all?"_

_"OF COURSE I CARE! SHE WAS MY ONLY DAUGHTER!" Lauren flinched at her grandfathers outcry. He rarely rose his voice and that was why she realised that he was hurting just as much as her. When he spoke next it was lower and had a sadness that seemed to fill the entire room. "I cannot even count the friends and loved ones that I have lost in my lifetimes, Lauren. You will outlive all the people that you love eventually depending on the species they are. It is a burden that we as Matriarchs and archivists of the universe must endure."_

_Lauren crossed her arms over her chest, "Then I won't make friends and I won't fall in love!"_

_Her grandfather nodded, "Then it will be a very lonely life for you, Poppit. I tried it once. But life is to be lived and a life without friends and family is no life at all, believe me. I look down at your mother's face and I don't just see her, I see all of the people I have lost and I vow never to forget their place in my life because they all meant and brought something into my life that was significant and precious. Do you understand."_

_Lauren nodded and she looked down at her mother's face and she knew what was to come, because she had dreamed this dream so many times before and each time the faces that flashed over her mother's grew longer and longer. _

"No more faces," she said. "I can't handle any more!"

"Lauren! Lauren! Wake up."

Lauren shot upright with a cry of, "NO MORE!" It took a moment for her eyes to stop seeing those faces and to look at the face that was looking at her full of concern. "Octavia?"

"I'm right here. You had a bad dream. It took me forever to wake you."

A chorus of voices sounded outside the door just before it burst open and Bo stood with her weapon out and at the ready, her eyes wild as she searched for signs of danger.

"I'm so sorry, Matriarch! She just rushed right past us before we could stop her," Josephine said in an apologetic tone as she glared angrily at Bo, who now seemed to be fixated on Lauren and her companion curled up beside her.

Lauren looked down at her nudity and lifted the sheet to cover up her breasts, which helped Bo look up and meet her eyes instead. "Everything is fine, Bo. There is no danger here, so if you don't mind waiting outside, I will be out in a bit."

Bo licked her lips and put her gun back into the holster at her side. "Right. Of course, ah... sorry for the intrusion." Bo exited the room quicker than she had entered if that was even possible and Lauren tried to stop the heat that was rushing through her from seeing Bo looking so fierce and intense thinking that she had been in danger. _Fuck that was sexy as hell,_ she thought.

* * *

After about fifteen minutes Bo watched as Lauren appeared behind the semi transparent material that separated the main antechamber from the rooms Josephine's companions used to entertain their clients. She watched as Octavia gave Lauren a thorough farewell before the blonde came out from behind the material screen and went to the counter.

Bo felt foolish for her overreaction to The Matriarch's outcry. _I mean what could have possibly given me a reason to think she was in danger! Hearing someone cry out 'no more' in this place could have been for many different things, least of all an assassination attempt, for goodness sake,_ Bo thought to herself.

Bo looked up from her lap and over at Lauren when she heard the blonde exclaim, "How much?" Lauren turned to Bo with a raised eyebrow even as she pressed her palm against the console and transferred the funds owed. "You needed two? This is a high end establishment, you know. The companions do not come cheap."

Bo liked the tone of Lauren's voice that hinted of annoyance with a slight side of regret. "What can I say. I had a lot of pent up frustration to dispense of. I asked for a double because I didn't want to risk killing anyone from exhaustion," Bo responded with a lopsided grin as she cooly placed her arms behind her head. "It's entirely your fault anyway, so just pay the exorbitant fee and lets go."

Lauren politely said her goodbyes to Josephine telling her that she would let her know if she would be requiring Octavia's services again during her stay before approaching Bo. She could see that Lauren was trying desperately not to smile as she crossed her arms and glared down at her. "My fault?"

"You think someone else is the sole cause of my volcanic sexual frustration that has been building up for the last couple of weeks?" Bo's stomach flip flopped happily when Lauren gave a shake of her head and chuckled softly making her eyes sparkle with amusement. Bo knew she could be incredibly charming and she hoped that Lauren wasn't immune to her charms. She enjoyed teasing the uptight and controlled woman before her, because there was a lighter and more playful side trapped beneath all the shields that The Matriarch had erected around her. "I am sorry for bursting in on you earlier. I overreacted, but when I heard you cry out, I just reacted without much thought about the odds that you would actually be in danger here."

Lauren shrugged. "I had a nightmare. I'm impressed that you heard my outburst."

"I have enhanced senses because of my special little friends floating around in my body."

"Oh of course! Fascinating. Much better than what I was thinking."

"And you were thinking?..."

Lauren grinned wide, "That you were camped right outside my room like a proper little alliance bodyguard and you hadn't taken me up on my offer to get yourself some company." Lauren chuckled again, "But alas, I have the bill to prove that that wasn't the case."

"Are you regretting your choice not to accept my invitation of a hot night of sex without the price tag?" Bo knew she was probably over stepping and taking the playful banter too far, but the words were already out and she couldn't take them back.

She was right and Bo watched Lauren shut down the bright spark that had managed to creep through her shields. The Matriarch sighed as her ghosts flashed freshly through her mind once more. "It just wouldn't be a good idea, Bo. Whether it was only one night or more. I just can't..." Lauren's voice trailed off and her face looked haunted and her eyes reflected of deep and profound loss.

Bo wanted to reach out and hold Lauren to take that pain away. "What was the nightmare about?" Bo asked even as her mind screamed, _Don't poke the bear!_

Lauren, still lost in her mind with her phantom memories responded, which took both her and Bo by surprise. "Memories of a time long past and the ghosts that follow me."

"Oh," was all Bo managed to say before Lauren snapped out of her haze and consulted her data bracelet to check the time before heading towards the exit. Bo stood up and trailed along behind her at a discreet distance.

Lauren could feel Bo's presence as she walked towards the promenade and market district. The blonde stopped abruptly and spun around. "You are going to shadow me wherever I go, aren't you?

"I was sent here to protect you and I will do that to the best of my ability regardless of how unhappy you are about it."

Lauren rolled her eyes at the determined soldier, "That would be a big fat yes then?" Bo gave Lauren a sharp nod her face serious. "Well, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. So you may as well just walk beside me if I can't get rid of you."

Bo smiled in triumph and Lauren just shook her head in resignation and started walking again. Bo did a little jog to catch up to the blonde and fell into step beside her. "Can we talk or do I have to be a good little bodyguard and be seen but not heard?"

"I would prefer that nobody knows that you are my bodyguard at all, so I guess we should act like we are acquainted. So conversation would probably help paint that picture."

"Great!" Bo said, unable to hide how happy she was that Lauren seemed to be thawing just a little with accepting Bo's presence in her life. They walked in silence for a little while just taking in the sights and smells of the stalls of food and restaurants on the promenade. "So just how old are you?" Bo asked as Lauren entered a small hole in the wall that opened up to an eatery that was brimming with all types of wonderful smells making Bo's stomach rumble. Several people inside the restaurant turned to look at both Lauren and Bo at the brunette's words. It was much quieter in the eatery than out on the street. Gritting her teeth at the unwanted attention Lauren grabbed Bo's hand and dragged her through the narrow space between dozens of tables to a more secluded booth at the back.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you, it's rude to ask a woman's age?" Lauren nudged Bo on to one of the chairs.

Bo shrugged at Laruen's question before saying, "Wow, you do like to take charge. I like that in a woman." She finished the statement with a playful wink.

Lauren growled in frustration even as a small smile pulled at the side of her mouth. "You are impossible! Just stay here and stay out of trouble while I order us some breakfast. Can you do that!"

Bo nodded and placed her hands neatly on the table, a playful glint in her eyes, "Yes, ma'am."

Lauren rolled her eyes, turned her back on Bo and went to get some food, unable to hide the small smile as she did so.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it helped to give you a glimpse of our complicated Matriarch and why she keeps people at a distance like she does. I would love to hear from you all so please don't be shy. Thank you for reading and supporting me as always.**

**Take care,**

**Doccubus21**

**xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Genesis or Exodus**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

"So you and the ice queen seem to be getting along a lot better," Mackenzie said as she threw several punches in her Comanders direction, which were easily avoided.

"You'll have to do better than that, Malicov, if you expect to win that bet you and the boys have going," Bo responded as she ducked to avoid the face level roundhouse kick that her subordinate had just let fly. Bo felt the disturbance in the air as the leg rushed over the top of her head and she swung her leg out and swept Mackenzie's other leg right out from underneath her, sending her crashing to the mat with an 'oomph'.

Bo quickly straddled the smaller fighter and pinned her hands at her side. Mackenzie grunted as she tried desperately to free herself from her Commander's vice like grip. Her legs and pelvis moved beneath Bo's weight in a futile attempt to overturn their positions. Bo let out a laugh, "What on earth are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying unsuccessfully to reverse our positions if you must know. But seeing as you are a mechanical super soldier, I know that my attempts are futile!"

Bo laughed some more and lifted her hips and little as she looking down at her second in command as Mackenzie continued to squirm. "And here I thought you were trying to get me off in another kind of fashion with the way you are moving your hips like that. Whatever would Hale say if he saw us right now? "

Mackenzie's face was shocked for a moment before a smile formed and her eyes glinted playfully. "He's a guy. He would probably ask to watch. What would Lauren think if she walked in here right now and found you pinning me down in your short shorts and sports bra all sweaty and panting?"

Bo's eyes widened as she considered that question for a moment and wished that she could get Lauren on the mat and squirming beneath her. Bo moved in a flash away and off of Mackenzie's body as the thought of sparring with Lauren affected her and made heat flush and course throughout her entire being. Bo stood up and then offered her hand to her friend lying on the mat.

"I'm surprised that worked," Mackenzie remarked as she took the Commander's offered hand. "What's going on between you and her? Have you hit that yet? Is she warmer between the sheets?"

Bo frowned and shook her head, "Nothings going on and it's not like that. And show some respect! This is Lauren's ship and we are uninvited guests aboard it, so I would appreciate if you didn't say things like that about her, Malikov, understood."

Mackenzie felt a twinge of remorse for her comments because she genuinely liked Lauren, even though she was a bit uptight and spent most of her time with her nose in test tubes and looking at crap under a microscope. She had said the comment to rattle her Commander who had denied and deflected any questions about her and the Matriarch's ever flourishing relationship since their sabbatical to Antrax. Things had been obviously different to everyone aboard Genesis, it was just The Matriarch and her Commander that seemed to be fighting the inevitable truth. Mackenzie focused on why she had said the crude comments in the first place. She was still holding Bo's hand, despite the fact that she was back on her feet and Bo's mind seemed to be elsewhere as her eyes focused on something over her left shoulder_._

_It's time,_ she thought as she tightened her grip on her Commander's arm and bent her knees readying herself for a new move that she hoped would knock Bo onto her ass and make her several hundred credits richer! _I hope this works and I don't make a complete ass of myself,_ she prayed silently seconds before she sprung up, her legs launching her body up and back, her legs pressed in towards her own chest before quickly lashing out and catching her Commander square in the chest with tremendous force and completely had released her grip on her Commander's mere moments before her feet connected and she heard something break on impact before Bo went flying through the air for a few seconds before landing with a hard thud onto the mat. Mackenzie hit the mat herself, but with much more grace as she used her momentum to do a backward roll to come back up onto her feet a moment later. She rushed to her superior officer and best friend's side in a flash. She hadn't moved since crashing to the mat except for some laboured gasping and she heard someone call out, Bo's name from behind her.

* * *

Bo caught movement behind Mackenzie moments after scolding her friend for her harsh comments about The Matriarch. Bo's eyes locked onto Lauren with her flowing hair, looking like spun gold and a look of barely controlled desire shining brightly in her eyes that made the woman look like she was almost in pain because of it. She thought that her heart would burst with the need to both take care of Lauren's desire and to remove the pain that she was feeling because of her fighting the feelings they had. But the pain wasn't just emotional as a tremendous force hit her square in the chest and sent pain searing through her as she was thrown back onto the mat, her chest burning as she tried to take a decent breath.

Mackenzie was by her side in a flash as she continued to suck in short ragged breaths. Bo already felt that the nanomites were working to fix the damage she had just sustained at the hands, or rather feet, of her pint sized friend. If Bo had been able to talk at that moment she would have congratulated Mackenzie on a well executed move. Her friend was almost always the smallest and most underestimated soldier in any conflict and she had worked tirelessly since Bo had recruited her and taken her under her wing several years ago. Mackenzie Malicov had been a thief in her former life, a damned good one on all accounts, but after robbing the wrong person she had ended up running for her life. Mackenzie had been hiding in a dive bar a few miles away from an alliance academy that Bo was visiting for a conference and that was where she had saved the young woman's life. It had been five against one when Bo had come upon her and she hadn't hesitated to even the odds, they had been firm friends and comrades in arms ever since.

Bo had moulded Malikov into the lethal, silent killer that she was today. She was able to sneak into an insurgent camp in the dead of night and eliminate everyone within it without raising an alarm. The guards would return from their outer night watches to dozens of dead infantry and no sign of a struggle. It was the forced, frontal hand to hand combat that Mackenzie had to work on and Bo had been giving her intensive lessons for months. Bo's vision was darkening as she fought off unconsciousness from the pain and lack of oxygen.

"Oh Commander, please just tell me that the little robots inside you are fixing you up and you aren't going to die on me!" Mackenzie's eyes were wide with worry as she looked down at her friend.

Bo wasn't able to speak, but she gave her scared subordinate a small nod and she watched the young girl breath a sigh of relief and tears to form and slide down her flushed cheeks. Bo registered movement behind Mackenzie and then Lauren was beside the young soldier and she looked furiously at her. "I'm pretty sure when you are sparring you aren't supposed to actually kill your opponent! God, Mackenzie! What were you thinking using that move on anyone that you weren't wanting to eliminate permanently!"

Bo felt the tears escape from the edges of her eyes and roll down the side of her face and into her ears. Bo had wondered why Lauren hadn't been by her side earlier and a moment later she saw that the Matriarch had a small medical kit with her. Mackenzie was apologising profusely to the Matriarch as the blonde administered some kind of pain relief, which in turn aided the nanomites to work even faster to repair the damage now that Bo wasn't feeling any pain.

"Her heart could have ruptured!"

Bo managed to find her voice, "It's okay, Lauren. The nanomites are healing the damage as we speak." The way Lauren looked at her could have quite possibly made her heart stop. In that look Bo saw everything that she had hoped to see. The raw expression of worry and concern conveyed just how close they had become over the last couple of months. "We should get you to the infirmary."

Bo shook her head, "No. My room will be fine. Mackenzie?"

"Yeah, Commander?"

"Why don't you go collect your reward for knocking me on my ass from the guys," Bo said with a small smile and a wink. "I'm proud of you."

"Are you fucking kidding me! She could have killed you, Bo, and you are telling her how proud you are!" Lauren was beside herself as she looked from Bo to Mackenzie in disbelief. "Crazy fucking brainwashed Alliance soldiers," she muttered as she repacked the medical kit.

"And there she is," Bo said with a chuckle at the Matrairch's insult. Bo placed her hands over her chest as the laugh caused some discomfort, "Ow. Don't make me laugh, Lauren." Bo mouthed 'Go' to Mackenzie and she silently left, leaving Bo with the Matriarch who was looking at her incredulously.

"I wasn't being funny, Bo." Lauren reached out and ran several fingers over Bo's cheek. "That was incredibly reckless of Mackenzie. You could be dead right now. I would really feel much better if you would allow me to take you to the infirmary so that I can check you over thoroughly."

Bo caught Lauren's hand before she was able to fully pull it away from her face and brought it to her lips and kissed the fingertips lightly. "As much as I would love for you to check me out thoroughly, Lauren, I promise you that the nanomites are doing their job and I will be back to my obnoxious, brainwashed alliance self in no time," Bo said with a wink.

Bo noticed several emotions flit across the Matriarchs features. At the kiss and her words. Bo ignored the desire and settled on the last emotion Lauren still held on her face at the mention of the nanomites. Pure, unadulterated curiosity. Bo watched as Lauren opened her mouth several times as if to say something, but failing miserably she finally just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"What is it, Lauren?"

The Matriarch shook her head, "It's nothing, I just... Her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes and took a breath before opening her eyes again. "I just really want to examine you. You are fascinating and the opportunity to observe the nanomites healing your injuries would be..."

"A Matriarch's wet dream," Bo said with a huge, cheeky grin.

Lauren blushed profusely at Bo's comment. "Intellectually stimulating," Lauren responded, with an almost embarrassed smile.

"The Nano Project is highly classified as you know. The alliance guards their secrets very closely, Lauren."

"I know. I'm sorry. It was wrong for me to even suggest it and compromise your loyalty and duty to your Alliance."

"I'm not saying no. I just want to know what is in it for me. What will you give me if I allow you to run your tests and observations?" Bo smiled suggestively at the blonde and rubbed her fingers along Lauren's palm, which she still held in her hand.

Lauren cocked her head to the side and gave a small smile. "What would you like?"

Bo gave a small shrug of her shoulders before starting to sit up. Bo winced as pain shot out like a star from the centre of her chest, "Can you give me a hand getting up?"

"Of course! Are you sure you want to? I can get a stretcher so you don't have to walk."

Bo grit her teeth and got to her feet. "No. No stretcher."

"It won't make you look weak, Bo," Lauren said as if reading the Commander's mind.

"No stretcher." Was her response, refusing to acknowledge that there was truth in Lauren's statement.

"Fine! Then you will ride on the hover disc with me. No arguments!" Lauren pulled out her disc and activated it.

Bo watched as Lauren stepped onto the hover disc and then offered Bo her hand. The brunette couldn't help but smile as she accepted the Matriarch's help stepping aboard the transportation device. "Hold on to me tightly now, Matriarch," Bo said with a wink as she pressed herself tightly against the front of Lauren's body.

"For someone with your injuries, you are enjoying this way too much," Lauren murmured into Bo's ear making her shiver.

"I've been trying for months to get your arms around me. This is like Christmas!" Lauren let out a small chuckle at the woman's words, trying to ignore just how right it felt having Bo so close to her. Bo snuggled into Lauren's body even more as the Matriarch placed her arms around Bo's waist and they started their journey.

"Where are we? Bo asked as she allowed Lauren to help her off the disc before she deactivated it. The pain relief had well and truly worn off about halfway through the trip and only Lauren's firm hold had kept her upright. Bo reached out and used a nearby counter to keep her on her feet.

"This is my private laboratory and research area. No one is allowed in here unless I am with them. It was the closest place to the gymnasium with the right equipment for me to be able to observe you. Lauren administered another dose of pain killers into Bo's system, "Better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"The first dose should have lasted longer than it did. Are you sure your injuries aren't more serious than you are letting on?"

"I metabolise drugs faster than regular people of my species."

"Faster than most species," Lauren remarked as she helped Bo up onto an examination table.

"I wouldn't know. You are the all knowing Matriarch of the universe, not me," Bo said with a smile. Lauren just gave a small snort in response as she went about setting up the equipment and flipping switches. "We have come a long way, Lauren. If I had said that to you a couple of months ago, you probably would have strapped me down and decided to open me up instead of just using the imaging equipment!"

"Perhaps, because I now know that that was actually a compliment coming from you and not an insult." Lauren typed in a few commands into her console and the machine hovering above Bo whirred into life and images started to display on the floating monitor with lines upon lines of numbers and data scrolling along side it.

"And because we are friends now and you don't just see me as just an Alliance stooge?"

"Hmm," was Lauren's response and Bo wasn't even sure if she had even heard her comment. "This is remarkable, Bo. Look at the way the nanomites work together. I wonder if..."

Bo wished that she could see what was going on in Lauren's head. That there was an imaging machine floating above her head showing her pictures of the Matriarch's brain lighting up with the intellectual stimulus Bo's unique condition was creating. "What do you wonder?" Bo asked, but she didn't receive a response. Lauren was too lost in the data and images flashing across the screen, so for the time being Bo stayed content just watching the woman that she was falling, ever so further in love with.

* * *

Bo woke up unsure of how much time had passed and glanced around the room looking for Lauren. Bo tested her strength and found that she was able to sit up without much discomfort at all, which meant that she must have been asleep for quite some time. She wrapped the blanket around her that Lauren must have tucked her into while she slumbered and slid off of the table and made her way over to where Lauren sat, her head resting on the desk, her hair cascading over her face as she slept. Bo reached out and brushed that golden hair away from the sleeping woman's face and gazed down at the defined and sculptured beauty of the Matriarch.

"Lauren?" Bo said before leaning down and brushing her lips softly against her cheek. Her lips tingled at the contact and she expected to see sparks between her lips and Lauren's cheek as she moved away so she could watch the Matriarch's face as her eyes fluttered open and locked onto hers.

As Lauren woke up and gazed at Bo a hand raised to touch the cheek that she had just kissed as if Lauren could also feel the after effects of that smallest touch. She then reached out to Bo with that same hand, "You're awake and you look so much stronger."

Bo wanted to kiss the woman in front of her so desperately. To feel what kind of spark they could produce with an embrace that was harder, deeper. "I feel good. How long was I asleep for?" Bo said, a little breathless as she continued to hold Lauren's gaze, trying desperately to communicate without words the longing that she felt to be close to the woman that set her ablaze.

Lauren laid a hand against Bo's face, "You seem a little breathless. Are you sure you're okay? Are you having trouble breathing?"

Bo closed her eyes and leaned against Lauren's warm palm against her face. When she opened them again, she saw that Lauren's eyes had darkened and her breathing was shallower. "You leave me breathless, Lauren. You must know that."

Bo sensed Lauren would shrink away from her at any moment. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to move two steps back when she was so close to completely breaking through the Matriarch's resistant shields. _She feels it as much as I do. If I kiss her will she have the strength to pull away and deny what we both so desperately want? _Bo didn't let the question linger and reached out to Lauren, putting her fingers through those silky golden locks and wrapping them around her neck.

"Bo? Please." Lauren's voice came out strained as if she was in physical pain, but her hand remained on Bo's face and the Matriarch's eyes gleamed with unfathomable need and desire. Bo closed the distance between them and locked her lips onto Lauren's and kissed her for all that she was worth. She needed to make it memorable because Bo knew that this kiss would mean either the first of many, or it would be their first and last. Bo closed her eyes and held on tighter, pulling Lauren up from her chair as the Matriarch finally began to kiss her back and she silently prayed that it wouldn't be their last because she thought that it might just kill her if it was...

* * *

**Author's Note: I know it has been a while since I updated. Between being ill and **life** in general, I have really been getting my ass kicked, so I hope you will forgive me. I wonder what will happen in the next chapter. Will this kiss make or break Bo's and Lauren's burgeoning relationship? When I know you'll know, I promise. ;)**

**I would love to hear from you all because it always lifts my spirit's. Take care and thank you as always for your support.**

**Doccubus21**

**xoxo**


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